Title: A novel visualisation and interaction technique for exploring multidimensional data

Authors: Lucio Ieronutti, Maurizio Pighin

Addresses: Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Udine, Via delle Scienze 206, 33100, Udine, Italy. ' Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Udine, Via delle Scienze 206, 33100, Udine, Italy

Abstract: Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) systems allow one to quickly provide answers to analytical queries on multidimensional data. These systems are typically based on visualisations characterised by limited interaction and exploration capabilities. In this paper, we propose innovative visual and interaction techniques for the analysis of multidimensional data. The proposed solution is based on three-dimensional hypercube representations that can be explored using dynamic queries and that combines colour-coding, detail-on-demand, cutting planes and viewpoint control techniques. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our visualisation tool by providing some practical examples showing how it has been used for extracting information from real multidimensional data.

Keywords: interactive visual analysis; hypercube representation; OLAP visualisation; visual queries; online analytical processing; multidimensional data.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIDM.2009.029084

International Journal of Business Intelligence and Data Mining, 2009 Vol.4 No.3/4, pp.350 - 374

Published online: 03 Nov 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article