iMapping

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iMapping is a process for the visual representation of structured information, comparable to mind mapping . The method was developed to clearly display complex relationships and is based on hierarchical nesting and deep zooming. IMapping combines the advantages of several established approaches ( mind mapping , concept mapping and spatial hypertext). The knowledge maps created with the iMapping method are called iMaps .

method

iMaps consist of nested fields (mostly rectangles) on a virtual surface. Any fields can be linked with labeled arrows. Each of the fields can contain additional fields and can thus be seen as an independent iMap. This principle also enables complex subject areas with a large number of fields and cross-connections to be clearly displayed. The coordinate systems of these sub-maps decrease with each nesting level, so that deeply nested details are displayed very small in each view. In order to be able to represent the nesting of iMaps in a meaningful way, a scalable user interface is required that enables zooming between the nesting levels. As a result, the visual complexity of each view remains constant, even if the iMap grows very rapidly.

Typically, the individual fields each contain a term or a short section of text. But they can also contain any images, multimedia content or other knowledge structure representations.

As a knowledge database , iMapping is especially designed to collect constantly growing amounts of information over the years, so that iMaps can become very large. In addition to the actual content, the integrated semantic search also makes use of the structure of the knowledge base.

Emergence

The development of the iMapping process was preceded by an analysis of visual mapping processes for knowledge organization carried out at the Leibniz Institute for Knowledge Media , which examined the psychological principles as well as the advantages and disadvantages of established knowledge structure representations.

Heiko Haller, who was also involved in the conception of the Semantic MediaWiki project at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology , was looking for a solution to facilitate the use of semantic databases, especially for personal knowledge management, through visualization . With this motivation and based on the findings from the analysis study, he developed the iMapping process within the EU research project NEPOMUK with the aim of offering an ergonomic operating concept for working with networked information. An open source software prototype of the process was implemented for evaluation purposes. This became known in 2012 through an article in the business magazine brand eins and was widely distributed. Due to the continued demand from users, the project has been running commercially since 2013 and has been available as SaaS since 2020 .

Similarities and differences to other procedures

A short description of the iMapping procedure, as differentiated from other procedures, can be found in Haller & Abecker, 2010, and a detailed description in Haller, 2011.

Mind maps

Like mind maps and other tree diagrams , iMaps have a hierarchical structure , which makes it easier to organize large amounts of information. Compared to mind maps, iMaps have the advantage that they can also show cross-connections, which is only possible to a very limited extent with mind maps, as they use lines to show the hierarchy, which i. d. R. have to be crossed.

Concept maps

Like concept maps and other network diagrams, iMaps consist of nodes and edges (cross-connections) and allow any number of nodes to be networked . This makes it easier to show relationships. In contrast to Concept Maps, whose basic structure is network-like, iMaps have a hierarchical basic structure due to the nesting principle.

Spatial hypertext

As demanded by the advocates of the spatial hypertext approach, and unlike concept and mind maps, iMaps allow nodes to be freely placed 1) without spatial restrictions and 2) without explicit connections to other nodes. However, in order to allow the representation of relationships and the modeling of semantic networks, cross-connections are not completely dispensed with, but these are 1) optionally enabled and 2) only displayed when required.

Scaling

All three of the above-mentioned methods have in common that they can only be used for the order of 10 to max. 100 nodes are clear and manageable. In the case of mind maps and concept maps, this is partly due to the fact that they were conceived as a method for pen and paper in the 1970s, and so did not take into account the interaction possibilities of modern computers. The nesting principle of iMaps with the zoom-based navigation enables users to deal with maps of any size without overwhelming them with visual complexity.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Frank M. Shipman, Catherine C. Marshall: Spatial hypertext: an alternative to navigational and semantic links . In: ACM Computing Surveys . 31, No. 4es, September, p. 14 – es. ISSN 0360-0300 . doi : 10.1145 / 345966.346001 .  
  2. ^ Haller, H. (2003): Mapping procedures for knowledge organization . Thesis. Published on KnowledgeBoard Europe [1]
  3. ↑ Project page of the iMapping open source project ( Memento of the original from October 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / semanticweb.org
  4. ↑ The outsourced brain, brand eins, 03/2012 edition ( Memento of the original from October 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.brandeins.de
  5. ↑ iMapping homepage
  6. ↑ Infinity Maps Homepage
  7. ↑ Haller & Abecker, 2010: iMapping - A Zooming User Interface Approach for Personal and Semantic Knowledge Management (awarded the Ted Nelson Award of the [Association for Computing Machinery | ACM SIGWEB])
  8. ↑ Heiko Haller, 2011 (dissertation): User Interfaces for Personal Knowledge Management with Semantic Technologies
  9. ↑ Frank M. Shipman, Catherine C. Marshall: Formality Considered Harmful: Experiences, Emerging Themes, and Directions on the Use of Formal Representations in Interactive Systems . In: Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) . 8, No. 4, December 1999, pp. 333-352. ISSN 0925-9724 . doi : 10.1023 / A: 1008716330212 .  

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