Knowledge Representation of Supply and Demand Through Data Visualization: Assessing Usability Using Dual Method

Abstract

Data visualization plays a crucial role in helping business decision-makers comprehend supply and demand dynamics within business operations. Despite its importance, there is a notable gap in methods used to assess the usability of the knowledge presented through visualizations. To address this gap, a study has been conducted with a focus on tourism industry data stories. The study aims to achieve three primary objectives: to demonstrate how to identify and process data attributes, design data stories that link these attributes to uncover relational patterns, and evaluate the usability of these data stories on a dashboard. The study methods consist of three main stages: data gathering and treatment, iterative exploratory data analysis (EDA) to uncover significant patterns, and the development of data story design and knowledge modeling, followed by usability evaluation. Usability was measured in terms of learnability, efficiency, memorability, error rate, and user satisfaction. A dual method was used, incorporating both the “evaluating communication through visualization” technique (CTV) and a generic usability approach. This was done to measure whether the storytelling narration gives meaning to the visuals and to determine the relevance, consequences, and conclusions of the supply and demand data stories. The findings show that the usability scores ranged from 4.0 to 4.4 on a five-point Likert scale, indicating that respondents generally agreed or strongly agreed that the dashboard represented usable knowledge. The relationships between supply and demand in market segments were illustrated using a Sankey chart. The overall mean usability score was 4.61, with a usability evaluation score of 92%, indicating that the data stories and dashboard were significantly comprehensible to users. Future work involve integrating advanced mathematical models with real-time data visualization and usability assessment to optimize decision-making processes in supply chain management.