Designing an interactive decision explorer

Two interactive displays were designed that let people modify lifestyle hazard factors (e.g. diet/exercise) and see how this changed their likelihood of serious illness, such as coronary heart disease and stroke, in the next 10 years. Pilot testing showed it was better to create strong visual links between changing hazard factors and their effects on risk of illness, than to link hazard selections to their changes. Revisions to left-right sequencing on screen were needed when moving from graphic to tabular displays. This reflected the design principle of giving salience to the user’s goals through the visual rhetoric of the screen display.