Usability of Business Information Semantic Network Search Visualization

A semantic network based on an ontology of economic and financial indicators can serve as an interactive visual interface that allows decision-makers to search for information. The aim of this study is to validate the usability of visualization as it pertains to semantic searches in the analysis of economic and financial indicators. We applied two methods for evaluating the efficacy of user interfaces, those being a questionnaire of user interface satisfaction and a usability test. This study was executed according to our proposed research method, described herein. The evaluation of two visualization prototypes was carried out with participation of volunteers. The questionnaire results were analyzed based on basic statistical information. Results show, that participants whose background was only in economics or only in IT evaluated semantic search visualization highly, and indicated the fewest potential problems with use of this visual interface than participants with both economic and IT backgrounds.