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Information dashboards are a critical capability in contemporary business intelligence & analytics systems. Despite coming with strong potential to support better decision making, the huge amount of information provided challenges their users when they perform data exploration tasks. Accordingly, dashboard users face difficulties in managing their limited attentional resources when processing the presented information on dashboards. Also, recent studies show that the amount of concentrated time humans can spend on a task is reduced massively and there is a need for designing user interfaces that support their users' attention management. Therefore, in this design science research project, we propose attentive information dashboards that provide individualized visual attention feedback (VAF) as an innovative artifact to solve this problem. We articulate theoretically grounded design principles and instantiate a software artifact leveraging users' eye movement gaze data in real-time to provide individualized VAF. The instantiated artifact was evaluated in a controlled lab experiment with 92 participants. The results from analyzing users' eye movement after receiving individualized VAF reveal that our proposed design has a positive effect on users' attentional resource allocation, attention shift rate, and attentional resource management. We contribute a system architecture for attentive information dashboards that support data exploration and two theoretically grounded design principles that provide prescriptive knowledge on how to provide individualized VAF. Further, practitioners can leverage the prescriptive knowledge derived from our research and design innovative systems that support users' information processing by managing their limited attentional resources.
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ISSN 1536-9323
Journal of the Association for Information Systems (2022) 23(2), 521-552
doi: 10.17705/1jais.00732
RESEARCH ARTICLE
521
Designing Attentive Information Dashboards
Peyman Toreini 1, Moritz Langner2, Alexander Maedche3, Stefan Morana4, Tobias Vogel5
1Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, peyman.toreini@kit.edu
2Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, moritz.langner@kit.edu
3Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, alexander.maedche@kit.edu
4Saarland University, Germany, stefan.morana@uni-saarland.de
5Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences / University of Mannheim, Germany, tobias.vogel@h-da.de
Abstract
Information dashboards are a critical capability in contemporary business intelligence and analytics
systems. Despite their strong potential to support better decision-making, the massive amount of
information they provide challenges users performing data exploration tasks. Accordingly, dashboard
users face difficulties in managing their limited attentional resources when processing the presented
information on dashboards. Also, studies have shown that the amount of concentrated time humans can
spend on a task has dramatically decreased in recent years; thus, there is a need for designing user
interfaces that support users’ attention management. In this design science research project, we propose
attentive information dashboards that provide individualized visual attention feedback (VAF) as an
innovative artifact to solve this problem. We articulate theoretically grounded design principles and
instantiate a software artifact leveraging users eye movement data in real time to provide
individualized VAF. We evaluated the instantiated artifact in a controlled lab experiment with 92
participants. The results from analyzing users eye movement after receiving individualized VAF reveal
that our proposed design has a positive effect on users’ attentional resource allocation, attention shift
rate, and attentional resource management. We contribute a system architecture for attentive
information dashboards that support data exploration and two theoretically grounded design principles
that provide prescriptive knowledge on how to provide individualized VAF. Practitioners can leverage
the prescriptive knowledge derived from our research to design innovative systems that support users
information processing by managing their limited attentional resources.
Keywords: Eye Tracking, Attentive User Interface, Design Science Research, Information
Dashboards
Sudha Ram was the accepting senior editor. This research article was submitted on December 16, 2019 and underwent
two revisions.
1 Introduction
Already in 1971, Herbert Simon pointed out that “in an
information-rich world, the wealth of information means
a dearth of something else: a scarcity of whatever it is that
information consumes … it consumes the attention of its
recipients.” (Simon, 1971, pp. 40-41). Following this
thinking, Goldhaber (1997) and Davenport and Beck
(2001) articulated the concept of the “attention
economy,” emphasizing that human attention should be
treated as a scarce commodity in today’s information-rich
world. According to the CEO of Microsoft, Satya
Nadella, “we are moving from a world where computing
power was scarce to a place where it now is almost
limitless, and where the true scarce commodity is
increasingly human attention” (Gausby, 2015, p. 4).
Designing Attentive Information Dashboards
522
Studies have shown that users’ attention spans, i.e., the
amount of concentrated time a person can spend on a task
without becoming distracted, have massively decreased
in recent years (Gausby, 2015; Statistics Brain, 2015).
This means that users today allocate their attention to
tasks for only short periods of time and shift their attention
rather quickly. However, proper attention allocation plays
an important role in information processing, as it enables
individuals to focus on important information to pursue
goals (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968; Wickens et al., 2016)
and perform tasks (Bera et al., 2019; Orquin & Mueller
Loose, 2013). Given this situation, supporting users in
managing their limited attentional resources is one of the
most pressing and difficult challenges in practice and
research in our current information-rich world (Anderson
et al., 2018; Bulling, 2016; Davern et al., 2012; Lerch &
Harter, 2001).
In the digital world, users’ attentional resource allocation
is driven by stimulus features provided by user interfaces
(UI) (Ahn et al., 2018; Lorigo et al., 2008; Nielsen,
2006). Because attention is a limited resource
(Broadbent, 1958; Chun et al., 2011; Kahneman, 1973),
users cannot attend to all stimuli at the same time and
need to select specific parts on the UI. UI designers are
aware of this and are attempting to overcome this
limitation and direct users’ attention to important items
by integrating specific design elements (e.g., size, color,
animation, etc.) regarding the users’ specific tasks
(Cheung et al., 2017; Hong et al., 2004). However, some
tasks may require a comprehensive overview of all
information presented on the UI. For these tasks, users
need to conduct several attention shifts to properly
allocate their attention to all information rather than
having their attention guided by specific design features.
Users’ attention shift rate can differ according to task,
characteristics, and UI design. Therefore, to process all
information on a UI, users need to manage their
attentional resource allocation by themselves.
To support that, studies suggested several years ago
that intelligent UIs, identified as attentive UI, should
be designed to assist users in managing their
attentional resources. Vertegaal (2003, p. 32)
described attentive UIs as “computer interfaces that are
sensitive to the user’s attention,” and that “measure
and model the focus and priorities of attention …
structuring communication such that the limited
resource of attention is allocated optimally across the
user’s tasks.” Recently, scholars from different
disciplines have emphasized the increasing need for
designing attentive UIs, especially when users are
dealing with huge amounts of information (Anderson
et al., 2018; Bailey & Konstan, 2006; Bulling, 2016;
Roda, 2011; Roda & Thomas, 2006).
1
In the remainder of the paper we use the terms “information
dashboards” and “dashboards” synonymously.
In the information-rich world, organizations collect
and analyze data from various sources to assist users in
making better decisions and bringing more value to the
business (Günther et al., 2017). Collecting data,
extracting insight, and creating value from data
represent many complex activities included in
companies’ attempts to advance users’ possibilities.
One key activity is helping decision makers gain
seamless access to information from different
perspectives in the form of descriptive analytics (Delen
& Ram, 2018). A well-known class of information
systems (IS) that supports such data-driven decisions
are business intelligence and analytics (BI&A) systems
(Chen et al., 2012). Information dashboards are a
prominent mechanism facilitating the interaction
between decision-makers and BI&A systems
(Behrisch et al., 2018; Pauwels et al., 2009; Preece et
al., 2015; Yigitbasioglu & Velcu, 2012). Few (2006, p.
34) has defined the information dashboard
1
as “a visual
display of the most important information needed to
achieve one or more objectives that has been
consolidated on a single computer screen so it can be
monitored at a glance.
Dashboards are known as one of the most effective
BI&A tools (Negash & Gray, 2008). They should be
designed to present insights in a comprehensive way
and be effective for decision makers (Bačić & Fadlalla,
2016; Pauwels et al., 2009; Phillips-Wren et al., 2015;
Yigitbasioglu & Velcu, 2012). Also, Gartner (2017)
has emphasized that well-designed dashboards enable
data exploration and support proper decision-making
as a critical capability of BI&A systems. In data
exploration tasks, the user browses the dashboard
generally to get a comprehensive understanding of the
visualized information. In this case, the user examines
data without having prior understanding of what
information it might contain (Baker et al., 2009;
Vandenbosch & Huff, 1997). However, even with a
well-designed dashboard, users find processing the
compressed amount of visualized information
challenging (Baskett et al., 2008; Figl & Laue, 2011;
Haroz & Whitney, 2012; Healey & Enns, 2012; Sedig
& Pasob, 2013). Many BI&A systems are not
beneficial to organizations because of inadequate
design and improper use of interaction technologies,
including dashboards (Deng & Chi, 2012; Schwarz et
al., 2014; Trieu, 2017). In fact, the main challenge of
organizations is not to collect more information and
derive insights but to use the information effectively
(Lerch & Harter, 2001).
In the first stage, users cognition plays an important
role in making business decisions (Chen & Lee, 2003;
Niu et al., 2013). However, humans have limited
cognitive abilities that affect their performance, even
Journal of the Association for Information Systems
523
when working with dashboards (Davern et al., 2012;
Lerch & Harter, 2001; Yigitbasioglu & Velcu, 2012).
In particular, dashboards can potentially create
difficulties for users managing their attentional
resources. Attentional resources are allocated as a set
of processes enabling and guiding the selection of
incoming perceptual information (Eriksen & Yeh,
1985). When exploring dashboards, users can only
focus on a limited selection of information, thus
missing other parts (Alberts, 2017; Dilla et al., 2010).
Properly allocating attentional resources is necessary
to analyze business insights when processing
information dashboards (Lerch & Harter, 2001; Singh,
1998). Therefore, advanced dashboards should support
users in managing attentional resources. Existing
research on BI&A systems is limited to their business
significance, while their widespread use and role in
providing solutions regarding corresponding users’
cognitive challenges when they work with BI&A
systems continue to present a research gap (Browne &
Parsons, 2012; Chen & Lee, 2003; Davern et al., 2012;
Niu et al., 2013).
In this study, we focus on designing attentive
information dashboards that are sensitive to users’
attention and assist them in allocating their attention
properly across the entire dashboard. Because users
predominantly interact with dashboards through the
visual channel, we propose designing a self-tracking
feature based on how users visually explore
dashboards. Research has long been interested in
attention allocated through visual channels (i.e., visual
attention) (Carrasco, 2011), especially regarding users’
eye movements as an approximation for measuring
their visual attention (Kowler, 2011). Scholars in IS
have also suggested using eye trackers to design
innovative IS applications (Davis et al., 2014; Dimoka
et al., 2012; Riedl & Léger, 2016; vom Brocke et al.,
2013).
In the BI&A field, eye tracking technology has thus far
been limited to use for diagnostic purposes (Kurzhals
et al., 2016). However, researchers have called for
integrating eye tracking technology in BI&A systems
and designing innovative features that support decision
makers as they use these systems, based on real-time
eye movement data (Silva et al., 2019). Previous
research has identified the need to provide feedback to
proactively inform users of critical states (O’Donnell
& David, 2000; Yigitbasioglu & Velcu, 2012).
Providing such feedback positively contributes to
employees’ performance (Chenoweth et al., 2004;
Jung et al., 2010; Montazemi et al., 1996). In addition,
previous studies in other disciplines highlight the
positive impact of individualized visual attention
feedback (VAF) as a self-tracking feature on
information processing performance (Deza et al.,
2017; Qvarfordt et al., 2010; Sharma et al., 2016; van
Gog et al., 2009). However, only a few studies have
examined the potential of eye movement data for
designing such feedback for IS (Lux et al., 2018) and,
to the best of our knowledge, no studies have
specifically focused on integrating it for dashboards.
Therefore, to close this knowledge gap in IS research,
our study addresses the following research question:
RQ: How can attentive information dashboards that
provide individualized visual attention feedback
for data exploration tasks be designed to enhance
users’ information processing?
To answer this research question, we conducted a
comprehensive design science research (DSR) project
(Gregor & Hevner, 2013) focusing on designing
innovative artifacts within three design cycles. In this
paper, we specifically focus on the second design cycle
of our DSR project and propose two theoretically
grounded design principles for attentive information
dashboards. We instantiate both design principles in an
artifact and evaluate the proposed design in a large-
scale, rigorous lab experiment. Specifically, we
analyze users’ eye movements during their first use of
the dashboard, after having received individualized
VAF (revisit phase), and at the end of the task. In the
experiment, we compare users who received
individualized VAF to users who received general
VAF in the form of a simple text explanation about the
importance of proper attentional resource allocation
when exploring the dashboard. Our results show that,
indeed, individualized VAF positively influences
users’ attentional resource allocation and management,
as well as their attention shift rate.
Our findings contribute to the IS discipline by
providing prescriptive knowledge in the form of
theoretically grounded and evaluated design
principles. Additionally, we contribute by designing
and demonstrating attentive information dashboards
for BI&A systems as an innovative artifact. From a
practical point of view, we support dashboard
designers in better understanding users’ challenges in
managing their attention, and we assist them by
designing an attentive information dashboard.
This paper is structured as follows. Section 2
summarizes the conceptual foundations and related
work. Section 3 introduces the three design cycles of
our larger DSR project and explains the second design
cycle in more detail. In Section 4, we conceptualize our
meta-requirements and design principles and describe
the instantiation of the artifact. In Section 5, we derive
the hypotheses and present the steps for evaluating the
developed artifact and the experimental design.
Section 6 presents the findings of the experiment, and
Section 7 outlines our contributions, limitations, and
avenues for future work.
Designing Attentive Information Dashboards
524
2 Conceptual Foundations and
Related Work
In this chapter, we first present the conceptual
foundations for this study, including attention as a
key concept and human information processing
theory. Subsequently, we present relevant work
related to this study that focuses on attentive UI that
track users’ eye movement in real time. Further, we
discuss existing work on systems that provide
individualized VAF to improve the performance of
users while processing information.
2.1 Conceptual Foundations
2.1.1 Attention
The Cambridge dictionary defines attention as “the act
of directing the mind to listen, see, or understand.”
Scholarly work, however, rarely offers a field-specific
definition for the concept (Anderson et al., 2018) and
considers it rather generally as selective processing of
incoming sensory information (Driver, 2001), thus
noting humans’ limited attention capacity (Chun et al.,
2011). Selective attention was initially introduced as a
part of Broadbent’s filter theory (Broadbent, 1958),
which argues that humans’ perceptual system starts to
process information through a selective filter to avoid
being overwhelmed by information overload. The
limited capacity of attentional resources is not fixed
but can vary based on different conditions such as task
and user characteristics (Kahneman, 1973). For
example, an easy task requires limited attention, while
a difficult task demands more attentional resources.
Further, users with different kinds of expertise can
have different capacities.
Attention has been differentiated as goal-directed vs.
stimuli-driven, and as covert vs. overt (Desimone &
Duncan, 1995). Goal-directed attention is steered
voluntarily, whereas stimulus-driven attention is
involuntary (Corbetta & Shulman, 2002). Scholars
consider goal-directed attention as selective attention.
In this case, users voluntarily and consciously select a
stimulus to which they allocate their attention. In
contrast, researchers refer to stimuli-driven attention
when users unconsciously respond to external stimuli
that capture their attention. Color, orientation, size,
motion, depth, and the like, are known as guiding
representations that involuntarily direct users’
attention to salient objects (Treisman & Gelade, 1980;
Wolfe & Horowitz, 2004).
Further, Posner (1980) distinguished overt and covert
attention as two additional categories. Overt attention
is an extrinsic form of behavior that aids humans in
monitoring the environment as well as guiding users’
head turning and eye movements toward an object
(Carrasco, 2011). Overt attention can be measured
using eye tracking devices (Kowler, 2011). The eye-
mind assumption (Just and Carpenter, 1980) explains
the relationship between patterns of eye movement and
their underlying cognitive processes. This assumption
determines that users’ current fixation dedicates their
overt attention. Both goal-directed and stimuli-driven
attention control users eye movements and therefore
overt attention during decision-making (Orquin &
Mueller Loose, 2013). In contrast, covert attention is
an inward activity in which the brain attends to an
object without any extrinsic behavior. This attention
type influences brain signals, typically measured by
leveraging neuroscience tools such as electro-
encephalograms (EEG) and functional magnetic
resonance imaging (fMRI) (Chun et al., 2011; Dimoka
et al., 2012).
2.1.2 Human Information Processing Theory
The human mind is an information processing system
(Card, 1983). Human information processing theory
describes how individuals encode information, capture
it in their memory, and retrieve it when needed. In this
study, we refer to Wickens et al.’s (2016) adapted
version of the human information processing stages.
The adapted version enables a better understanding of
users’ information processing when they interact with
dashboards and distinguishes different components
that affect their perception. Figure 1 depicts key
elements of the human information processing theory
used in this study and the relationship between them.
The first important component is the attention
resource connected to sensory processing, perception,
and memory processes. Generally, for information
processing, allocating limited attention is considered in
two different steps (Healey & Enns, 2012): First, pre-
attentive processing relies on methods for drawing
users’ stimulus-driven attention. In this step, users
encode a stimulus for a short time based on the
elements that attract their attention, and they perceive
the information through their sensory organs (e.g., eye,
ear, etc.). Second, post-attentive processing focuses on
goal-directed attention, processing the perceived
information in detail.
The second important component is memory.
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) introduced the
multistore model of memory to explain the
relationship between three types of memory: (1)
sensory memory stores raw information that the brain
receives from the sense organ (e.g., color, shape, etc.
of the objects) and keeps for few seconds; (2)
working memory stores information temporarily and
affects higher-order cognitive functions (Baddeley
and Hitch, 1974); and (3) long-term memory stores
information for a long time by rehearsing the
information from the working memory.
Journal of the Association for Information Systems
525
Figure 1. Human Information Processing Stages (adapted from Wickens et al., 2016)
Users encode and transfer information to the working
memory by allocating their attention to the information
collected in the sensory memory. Working memory
plays an important role in complex cognitive behaviors
such as comprehension, reasoning, and problem-
solving (Engle, 2002). However, working memory
capacity is a limited resource and is known as one
important difference between individuals (Baddeley,
1992). Researchers have defined it as an important
individual characteristic that people rely on when
working with visualized information (Borkin et al.,
2016; Haroz & Whitney, 2012; Healey & Enns, 2012;
Toker et al., 2013). Miller (1956) has shown that
humans can store seven (plus or minus two)
information chunks. Moreover, he found that users can
store more information if they receive it as chunked
information. Users’ working memory capacity is
important because it can predict their control of
attentional resources (Engle et al., 1999; Kane et al.,
2001; Kane & Engle, 2003). In addition, users with
high and low capacities have different abilities to
control their attentional resources, which impacts their
task performance.
The third component is perception, the process of
recognizing (being aware of), organizing (gathering
and storing), and interpreting (binding to knowledge)
information, e.g., as presented on dashboards (Ward et
al., 2010). Information perception, for example on
dashboards, subsequently supports users in making
decisions based on this information (Ware, 2012).
2.2 Related Work
2.2.1 Eye Tracking and Information
Dashboards
Duchowski (2002) categorizes eye tracking
applications into two classes: diagnostic and
interactive. Diagnostic eye tracking applications use
offline records of eye movement data for further
evaluation. Interactive eye tracking applications use
eye movement data in real-time and enable eye-based
interactions for their users. In the IS discipline, eye
trackers are mainly used for diagnostic purposes (Riedl
et al., 2017; Vasseur et al., 2019), and Dimoka et al.
(2012), for example, emphasized eye tracking devices
as important tools for understanding users’ visual
behavior. Existing dashboard studies have utilized eye
trackers to evaluate certain design features (e.g.,
presentation formats, colors, size, etc.) by analyzing
offline records of eye movement data (Bera, 2014,
2016; Burch et al., 2011; Nadj et al., 2020). Other
studies have investigated decision makers’ visual
analytics strategies to determine the relationship
between the accuracy, speed, and consistency of
decisions (Cöltekin et al., 2010; Vila & Gomez, 2016)
and users’ cognitive effort when working with
visualized information (Fehrenbacher & Djamasbi,
2017; Smerecnik et al., 2010). Further, researchers
have used eye movement data to examine the
relationship between user characteristics and
visualized information such as perceptual speed and
Designing Attentive Information Dashboards
526
visual and verbal working memory (Okan et al., 2016;
Toker et al., 2013). However, only a few studies have
utilized eye movement data in real time, e.g., for fovea-
based filtering (Okoe et al., 2014), and there is a need
for further research on this topic (Silva et al., 2019).
Additionally, Majaranta and Bulling (2014)
emphasized the attentive capability of eye tracking
applications considered to be attentive UI. Attentive
UIs are computer interfaces that are sensitive to users’
attention and structure communication by allocating
limited attention optimally across users’ tasks
(Vertegaal, 2003). Research on attentive UIs arose
from the idea that users are increasingly surrounded by
huge amounts of information, while their attention is a
limited resource (Anderson et al., 2018; Bulling,
2016). Eye movement data represents the most popular
data source for designing attentive UIs (Bulling, 2016;
Henderson et al., 2013; Majaranta & Bulling, 2014).
Researchers have developed attentive UIs in different
fields, such as reading assistants in attentive
documents (Buscher et al., 2012), attentive
recommender systems (Xu et al., 2008), attentive
tutoring systems (D’Mello et al., 2012), attentive UIs
to support task resumption (Kern et al., 2010;
Mariakakis et al., 2015), remote communications
(D’Angelo & Gergle, 2018; Zhang et al., 2017), and
attentive conversational agents (Ishii et al., 2013).
Although IS scholars have suggested using use eye
movement data to design innovative systems (Davis et
al., 2014; Dimoka et al., 2012; Maglio et al., 2000;
Riedl & Léger, 2016; vom Brocke et al., 2013),
applying attentive UIs to increase users’ awareness by
means of self-tracking features has not been
investigated in the IS discipline thus far. One possible
reason for this could be the difficulty that users have
with these devices as built-in functions of the IT
artifact (vom Brocke et al., 2013). However, more
recently, eye tracking technology usage has increased
considerably in different research areas, primarily
because of the availability of cheaper, faster, more
accurate, and easier to use eye trackers (Duchowski,
2017). In this study, we attempt to close this research
gap by using low-cost eye tracking devices for
designing attentive information dashboards as a
common UI used in BI&A systems.
2.2.2 Visual Attention Feedback
Providing users feedback during their interaction with
a UI is one of the most basic and important usability
principles (Nielsen, 1993). Preece et. al (2015, p. 26)
defined feedback as “sending back information about
what action has been done and what has been
accomplished while allowing the person to continue
with the activity.” Various feedback types are available
to assist users in accomplishing their tasks in digital
environments; for example, cognitive feedback
presents information about users’ cognitive strategies
(Lim et al., 2005; Nah & Benbasat, 2004). Prior studies
have shown that cognitive feedback influences
successful task accomplishment (Balzer et al., 1989;
Nah & Benbasat, 2004; Sengupta & Te’eni, 1993).
Previous research in different disciplines has shown
that using eye trackers to provide users with feedback
about their attentional resource allocation can support
them in improving their performance. For example,
Sharma et al. (2016) showed that their gaze-aware
feedback tool significantly improves students’
attentional resource allocation and learning gains.
D’Mello et al. (2012) found that informing students
about their information processing behavior supports
reorienting their attentional patterns and promotes
learning, motivation, and engagement. Sarter (2000)
showed the need for giving feedback about effective
attentional resource allocation to support users in
managing their limited attention when working with
highly complex information-rich environments. Deza
et al. (2017) demonstrated the benefit of using eye
trackers to improve users’ performance in visual
search tasks because the huge amount of data makes
operators susceptible to information overload and
attentional resource allocation inefficiencies.
Qvarfordt et al. (2010) and Sridharan et al. (2012)
investigated the use of eye movement data as a form of
feedback to improve the inspection method in various
applications such as radiology and imaginary analysis.
Summing up existing research, we identified a lack of
design knowledge describing how to provide feedback
on users’ attentional resource allocation in order to
improve their information processing performance in
general. This is specifically relevant when users are
exploring dense information on UIs, such as
dashboards. Moreover, Lux et al.’s (2018) literature
review of real-time feedback applications based on
neuroscience tools in IS revealed that there is an IS
research gap regarding the use of eye trackers for
designing cognitive feedback. This study closes the
identified research gap by contributing design
knowledge on how to provide users with
individualized feedback on their visual attention
allocation when interacting with dashboards based on
real-time eye movement data.
3 Design Science Research Project
This study is part of a larger DSR project that delivers
an innovative solution (attentive information
dashboards) for a real-world problem (managing
users’ limited attentional resources) (Gregor &
Hevner, 2013). Specifically, we address the lack of
design knowledge on how to utilize users’ eye
movement data in real time to provide feedback on
attentional resource allocation. We adapted the
approach from Kuechler and Vaishnavi (2012) and
divided the entire DSR project into three consecutive
design cycles (see Figure 2).
Journal of the Association for Information Systems
527
Figure 2. Design Cycles of the Research Project
The work presented in this paper focuses on the second
design cycle. In the following sections, we briefly
outline the overall DSR project to provide further
background and to illustrate our overall research goal.
We started the first design cycle with an exploratory
literature review on the use of eye tracking in the
context of information visualization and dashboards.
The findings highlight that previous research has used
eye tracking devices mostly for diagnostic purposes by
accessing offline records of users’ eye movement data.
Further, previous studies have mainly focused on the
role of limited attention and working memory for users
exploring single charts (e.g., Borkin et al., 2013;
Healey & Enns, 2012; Somervell, McCrickard, North,
& Shukla, 2002) rather than several charts located on
one screen in the form of a dashboard. To analyze
business insights, exploring dashboards and properly
allocating attentional resources (Lerch & Harter, 2001;
Singh, 1998) is important. Cognitive limitations and
related errors are underresearched topics in the IS field,
which explains the general need for more research on
these topics (Browne & Parsons, 2012). Also, only a
few researchers have examined BI&A systems and
users cognitive limitations when using these systems
(Davern et al., 2012; Niu et al., 2013). Particularly,
researchers have emphasized the need to study
individual cognitive limitations with respect to the
effectiveness of information dashboards (Pauwels et
al., 2009; Yigitbasioglu & Velcu, 2012). Therefore, we
conducted a pilot experimental study using eye
tracking devices to investigate potential attention
challenges and the role of users’ working memory
capacity when interacting with dashboards (Toreini &
Langner, 2019). We found that users tend to be biased
toward charts located on the left side of the screen. Our
findings are in sync with previous studies that have
investigated users visual behavior on other
information-rich UIs (Ahn et al., 2018; Lorigo et al.,
2008; Nielsen, 2006). Also, we found that users repeat
their behavior if they receive the same dashboard for a
second time, independent of whether they have a low
or high working memory capacity, and then do not
allocate their attentional resources properly.
These findings support our conclusion that users
require feedback in the form of individualized VAF.
We thus focus on users’ goal-driven attention because
we would like to support them in managing the
attentional resources they voluntarily allocate to
certain dashboard elements during data exploration
tasks (Corbetta & Shulman, 2002). In addition, we
focus on users’ overt attention in this project because
we can measure that with eye tracking devices
General Design
Science Cycle
Operation and Goal Knowledge
Awareness of
Problem
Suggestion
Development
Evaluation
Conclusion
Literature review on
attentive systems with task
resumption support (TRS)
Adaptation of design principles
based on empirical results and
theoretical foundations
Instantiation of design
principles as:
Attentive dashboard
Individualized VAF (TRS)
Quantitative evaluation of
gaze-based TRS and the role
of working memory capacity
(lab experiment)
Evaluation analysis and
identification of most suitable
gaze-based TRS based on
working memory capacity
Design Cycle 3
Attentive information
dashboards with task
resumption support
Further reading and
refinement of theoretical
grounding
Adaptation of design principles
based on empirical results and
theoretical foundations
Instantiation of design
principles as:
Attentive dashboard
Individualized VAF
Quantitative evaluation of
individualized VAF
for data exploration
(lab experiment)
Evaluation analysis,
hypothesis supported
Design Cycle 2
Attentive information
dashboards for data
exploration
Literature review &
problem exploration through
exploratory eye tracking study
Provide suggestions
based on results from
literature review and
exploratory study
Instantiation of suggestions:
Attentive dashboard
Three VAF types
Quantitative evaluation of
VAF approaches
(real-time vs. offline)
(eye tracking pilot study)
Evaluation analysis and
identification of most suitable
VAF type
Design Cycle 1
Exploring attention
management problems
with dashboards and
possible solutions
Designing Attentive Information Dashboards
528
(Duchowski, 2017; Kowler, 2011) and can link users
cognitive processes to their eye movements (Carrasco,
2011; Hayhoe & Ballard, 2005; Just & Carpenter,
1980; Kowler, 2011; Liversedge & Findlay, 2000;
Rayner, 1998). Summing up, we identified our initial
meta-requirement for dashboards that consider users’
limited attention and working memory when
performing data exploration tasks (Toreini & Langner,
2019; Toreini & Morana, 2017): The dashboard should
support users in managing their attention by providing
individualized VAF while they are exploring data.
Subsequently, we developed two approaches for
providing VAF that operate based on eye movement
data grounded in research on attention and self-tracking
feedback. We compared their effectiveness with respect
to users’ information processing during data exploration
tasks (Toreini et al., 2020). One of these approaches
provides general VAF, including offline eye movement
data from previous users who performed the same task.
The other approach uses real-time eye movement data
of users to provide individualized VAF. After
developing both approaches, we designed and executed
an eye tracking pilot study to investigate the
effectiveness of each approach. The first participant
group used general VAF by providing an example of
proper attention allocation integrating offline records of
eye movement data from other users who had performed
the same task on the same dashboard. The second group
also received the offline records of eye movement data
from other users, but with improper attention allocation.
The third group received individualized VAF that
represented their actual attention allocation as
individualized VAF. Later, we compared the effects of
general and individualized VAF. The findings reveal
that, compared to general VAF types, individualized
VAF has positive effects on information processing.
In the second design cycle, on which this paper
focuses, we investigated the individualized VAF’s
influence in more detail. First, we refined the
theoretical grounding for designing the individualized
VAF and the corresponding design principles. Second,
we instantiated an improved version of the attentive
information dashboard including the individualized
VAF as our artifact. Third, we conducted a large-scale,
controlled laboratory experiment to assess the
effectiveness of our design principles by providing
individualized VAF on users’ information processing
performance using eye tracking technology.
In the third design cycle, we investigated the
consequences of providing individualized VAF in a
multitasking scenario. Previous research identified the
need to provide attention management systems for
multitasking environments (Anderson et al., 2018). We
assume that individualized VAF can support users if
they frequently need to shift their attention from
monitoring dashboards (primary task) to other tasks,
such as answering emails (secondary task), and back to
the monitoring task. Such feedback works as a memory
aid for users to remember their previous attentional
resource allocation and supports them in resuming the
primary task properly instead of starting again from
scratch. For this cycle, we evaluate different gaze
visualization for individualized VAF and identify the
appropriate task resumption support for dashboards
(Toreini et al., 2018a, 2018b).
4 Conceptual and Instantiation of
Individualized Visual Attention
Feedback for Attentive
Information Dashboards
4.1 Meta-Requirements and Design
Principles
In the first design cycle, we identified the need to
support users in managing their attention by providing
feedback when they are exploring data on dashboards.
Additionally, we found preliminary evidence for the
effectiveness of individualized VAF based on real-
time eye movement data in contrast to general VAF
based on offline eye movement data. In the second
design cycle, we investigated the influence of
individualized VAF in more detail. Thus, we refined
the theoretical grounding for designing attentive
information dashboards and individualized VAF,
which we describe in the following paragraphs (see
Table 1 for the summary).
Based on our initial meta-requirement, we specifically
demanded that the system should monitor users’
attentional resource allocation in real time (MR1).
According to the eye-mind assumption (Just &
Carpenter, 1980) users’ eye movement data can be
used as an approximation of their overt attention
(Kowler, 2011). Eye trackers are capable of collecting
eye movement data in real time, and these data can be
utilized to design attentive UIs (Bulling, 2016; Bulling
et al., 2011; Henderson et al., 2013; Majaranta &
Bulling, 2014; Roda & Thomas, 2006; Vertegaal,
2003). Tracking users’ eye movement data in real time
provides the opportunity to design innovative IS
applications (F. D. Davis et al., 2014; Riedl & Léger,
2016; vom Brocke et al., 2013). Thus, we articulated
the second meta-requirement of estimating users
attentional resource allocation based on their eye
movement data (MR2). These two meta-requirements
lay the foundation for the first design principle (DP)
we propose:
DP1: Provide the system with the capability of
computing users’ attentional resource allocation
based on monitoring their eye movement with an
eye tracking device in real time while they are
performing data exploration tasks using the
information dashboard.
Journal of the Association for Information Systems
529
Table 1. Meta-Requirements and Design Principles
Design cycle one
Design cycle two
Initial meta requirement
Refined meta requirements
Design principles
Initial MR: The information
dashboard should support
users in managing their
attention by providing VAF
when they are exploring data.
MR1: Monitor users’ attentional resource
allocation in real time.
DP1: Provide the system with the capability of
computing users’ attentional resource allocation
based on monitoring their eye movement with an eye
tracking device in real time while they are performing
data exploration tasks using the information
dashboard.
MR2: Estimate users’ attentional resource
allocation based on eye movement data
recorded with eye trackers.
MR3: Provide feedback on users’
attentional resource allocation to enable
self-awareness.
DP2: Provide the system with the capability to
provide individualized visual attention feedback
based on users’ computed attentional resource
allocation when they are performing data exploration
tasks using the information dashboard.
MR4: Provide individualized, precise, and
nonsuggestive VAF via the information
dashboard.
Being able to monitor users’ eye movements when
they are exploring dashboards is a prerequisite to
assisting users in improving their attentional resource
allocation. Providing feedback that informs users
about their previous behavior is expected to increase
their self-awareness and to support them in improving
their information processing performance. Previous
research has shown that tracking users with different
devices and providing real-time feedback can
influence their behavior (Hibbeln et al., 2017; Jung et
al., 2010). In particular, the studies found evidence that
providing feedback supports users in allocating their
limited attentional resources more appropriately, and
ultimately improves their task performance when
working with UIs that contain massive amounts of
information (D’Mello et al., 2012; Deza et al., 2017;
Göbel & Kiefer, 2019; Qvarfordt et al., 2010; Sharma
et al., 2016; Sridharan et al., 2012; van Gog et al.,
2009). Therefore, as the third meta-requirement
(MR3), we expect attentive information dashboards to
provide users with VAF at the end of the task, to
increase their self-awareness and thereby enable them
to improve their information processing performance.
VAF enables users to recognize their current
attentional resource allocation and potentially adjust
it. The provided VAF should enable users to improve
information processing when exploring the presented
information. Therefore, the VAF needs to be
individualized and precise. Individualized VAF
should increase users’ self-awareness about goal-
directed attention by presenting their eye movement
patterns to them. We presume that such feedback will
support users in identifying their attentional failures,
such as having missed important information on the
dashboard. Therefore, as the fourth meta-requirement
(MR4), we propose that individualized precise, and
nonsuggestive VAF is needed. The proposed third
and fourth meta-requirements inform our second
design principle:
DP2: Provide the system with the capability to provide
individualized visual attention feedback based on
users’ computed attentional resource allocation
when they are performing data exploration tasks
using the information dashboard.
4.2 Instantiation of the Design
To map the proposed design principles to concrete
design features, we propose the system architecture
depicted in Figure 3. The system architecture
comprises three important subsystems. First, the
information dashboard subsystem connects with the
BI&A system and presents information to users.
Typically, the layout of dashboards comprises visual
features (e.g., charts, tables, etc.) and interaction
features (e.g., drill down, zoom, etc.), depending on
the intended purpose of the dashboard (e.g.,
planning, monitoring, communication, etc.) and on
the different characteristics of the dashboard users
(e.g., levels of knowledge, personality, etc.)
(Yigitbasioglu & Velcu, 2012).
Second, the eye tracking subsystem establishes a
connection to the eye tracking device and provides the
functionality to track and store the users’ eye
movement data to extract the attentional states of users.
Previous studies have used different procedures in
extracting users’ cognitive states and their attentional
status from their gaze data (Duchowski, 2017; Kowler,
2011). This subsystem provides the capability to
extract users’ attentional states in real time from the
collected gaze data.
Designing Attentive Information Dashboards
530
Figure 3. System Architecture of the Proposed Attentive Information Dashboard
Third, the attention-aware subsystem focuses on
matching users’ attentional states with the dashboard
layout and provides individualized VAF. In this
subsystem, the attention analyzer component uses
information from the eye tracking subsystem (i.e., the eye
movement data) in combination with information on the
dashboard’s layout (e.g., the position of important
elements) and users’ interaction with the dashboard to
derive their attentional spotlight. Hence, the dashboard
becomes sensitive to the user’s attention by tracking
which information on the dashboard is processed by the
user, and for how long.
The first design principle maps onto the foundational
attentive information dashboard capability of computing
users’ attentional resource allocation based on monitoring
users’ eye movements with an eye tracking device. The
second design principle specifically maps onto the
individualized VAF capability building on the feedback
generator component. The specific individualized VAF
design can vary, based on the feedback purpose and the
specific characteristics and requirements of the task users
perform. We describe the actual implementation of the
individualized VAF this study uses, in the experimental
software and apparatus section (see Section 5.2.2).
5 Laboratory Experiment
To evaluate the effects of the two proposed design
principles, we instantiated the design in a running
software artifact and conducted a controlled laboratory
experiment. In the following sections, we outline the
underlying hypotheses investigated in the experiment
and describe the experiment’s methodology.
5.1 Hypotheses Derivation for
Laboratory Experiment
To assess the proposed design, we outline
hypotheses on the proposed effects that existing
research justifies. Before deriving the hypotheses,
we need to consider the interdependencies of both
design principles. The second design principle
(provision of individualized VAF) builds on the first
design principle (monitoring users’ eye movement
data), thus a distinct evaluation of each design
principle is technically not possible. We therefore
decided to assess our design by instantiating both
design principles (referred to as the individualized
VAF group) and then compare it to a baseline
Real-time
eye movement
data
Feedback Generator
Individualized VAF
for data exploration
task
Attention Analyzer
Attentional
spotlight detector
Eye-tracker
(Tobii 4C)
Attentive Information Dashboard
(DP1)
Individualized
Visual Attention Feedback
(DP2)
(1) Dashboard
Subsystem
(3) Attention-aware
Subsystem
Eye Movement Data Handler
Eye gaze feature extractor
Visual attention
recognizer
Eye movement data
storage
(2) Eye Tracking
Subsystem
Information
Dashboard
Layout
BI&A
System
Insight
storage
DP1
DP2
Journal of the Association for Information Systems
531
system that instantiates no design principle but
provides general feedback (referred to as the general
VAF group).
Our study is undertaken in the context of supporting
users in data exploration tasks on dashboards, done in
three phases: (1) first visit phase, (2) revisit phase, and
(3) end of the task. The differentiation in these phases is
important because individualized VAF requires eye
movement data, thus users need first to interact with the
dashboard (i.e., in the first visit phase) before the actual
feedback can be provided. The provided feedback will
then affect users’ attentional resource allocation in the
revisit phase. We argue that users need to remember
their attentional resource allocation during the first visit
on the dashboard in order to be able to allocate an
appropriate level of attentional resources in the revisit
phase. Previous research has shown that users find it
difficult to remember their previous attentional resource
allocation and typically repeat their visual behavior in
the revisit phases (Cane et al., 2012; Monk et al., 2008;
Singh, 1998). Therefore, we argue that users with
general VAF (i.e., without the support our design
provides) will be challenged in finding an appropriate
revisit strategy in comparison to users who receive
individualized VAF (i.e., with the support our design
provides). Previous research has shown that providing
individualized VAF guides users toward recognizing
high and low-visited parts of the UI (Göbel & Kiefer,
2019; Qvarfordt et al., 2010) and enables them
subsequently to optimize their behavior. Summing up,
we propose our first hypothesis as follows:
H1: Providing individualized VAF results in better
attentional resource allocation performance in the
revisit phase compared to providing generic VAF.
Further, receiving individualized VAF will enable users
to derive a proper strategy for the revisit phase.
Accordingly, users can purposefully turn their attention
to specific elements on the dashboard (i.e., elements
previously less attended to), rather than randomly
switching between different dashboard elements (again)
because they lack a proper strategy for the revisit phase.
Researchers have demonstrated that providing VAF
increases the users focus while they are conducting
tasks (D’Mello et al., 2012). Consequently, users who
received individualized VAF require less attention shifts
in the revisit phase compared to users who did not
receive it. Summing up, we propose our second
hypothesis as follows:
H2: Providing individualized VAF results in a lower
attention shift rate in the revisit phase compared
to providing generic VAF.
Previous research has found that the position of the
stimulus in the UI affects how users allocate their
attention to the stimulus (Lorigo et al., 2008; Nielsen,
2006; Soegaard, 2020). Previous studies have shown
that users process information similar to the F pattern.
In fact, users start from the left side of the UI and then,
reading from left to right, allocate less attention to the
information given on the right. An eye tracking study
on dashboards by Tableau (Alberts, 2017) has shown
that users typically focus their attention on specific
areas and thereby potentially miss other parts of the
dashboard. Also, the results from the first design cycle
in this DSR project revealed that users typically
analyze the charts on the left side of the dashboard
more intensively than the other parts of the dashboard
(Toreini & Langner, 2019). Therefore, we argue that
providing individualized VAF can prevent users from
focusing only on specific areas of a dashboard while
neglecting others and can support them in better
managing the distribution of their limited attentional
resources. Summing up, we propose our third
hypothesis:
H3: Providing individualized VAF results in better
attentional resource management at the end of the
task compared to providing generic VAF.
Figure 4 depicts the research model that we
investigated in the laboratory experiment.
5.2 Laboratory Experiment Methodology
We assess our proposed design’s effect in a mixed
model design with two groups (both design principles
instantiated, providing individualized VAF x both
design principles not instantiated, providing general
VAF) as the between-subject manipulation, as well as
the time of providing the feedback (before and after
receiving VAF) as the within-subject manipulation.
5.2.1 Participants
In all, 92 university students (35 female, 57 male) with an
average age of 23.45 (SD=3.39) participated in this
experiment. We used student participants for the
laboratory experiment, as doing so provides two key
advantages. First, in contrast to employees in
organizations, students are not specifically trained to
work with dashboards and are not biased by contextual
information. Therefore, like novice users, they likely have
little or no prior knowledge of the underlying
experiment’s process (i.e., the information processing
task). Second, it is relatively easy to reach a large enough
sample size of student participants to achieve adequate
statistical power without unreasonable effort.
Consequently, students are an adequate and
representative sample for the experimental setup (Burton-
Jones & Meso, 2008).
Each student received 10 euros as a financial incentive to
participate in and complete the experiment. We recruited
a total of 107 participants from an experiment pool and
randomly assigned them to the two experimental groups.
Eventually, we removed 15 participants from the sample
because of the following three reasons.
Designing Attentive Information Dashboards
532
Figure 4. Research Model to Investigate the Effect of Design Principles 1 and 2
First, we removed 12 participants because their recorded
eye movement data covered less than 75% of the overall
experimental time (basically less than 90 seconds in the
first visit or less than 45 seconds in the revisit phase). We
assumed that these participants did not engage in the
data exploration task seriously or that the eye tracker
had technical problems recording their eye movement
data. Two participants were excluded from the sample
because they did not answer the control question in the
post-experimental survey correctly. Finally, we
excluded one more participant because of self-reported
health problems affecting the eyes. In summary, our
sample assigned 48 participants to the control group
(general VAF) and 44 participants to the treatment
group (individualized VAF).
5.2.2 Experimental Software and Apparatus
The experiment was conducted with self-developed
software that incorporates the capability to track users’
eye movement data in real time. Further, the
application collected the data required for further
analysis in the evaluation section. We used the Tobii
Eye Tracker 4C, which enables tracking users’ eye
movement data in real time and records relevant eye
movement data. The corresponding Tobii license was
included to store and process the collected data. This
eye tracker is a desktop-mounted device measuring 17
x 15 x 335 mm (0.66 x 0.6 x 13.1 in) in size; it has a
sampling rate of 90 Hz, and is considered one of the
low-cost eye trackers in the market (Farnsworth,
2019). We selected this particular eye tracker because
we determined that the use of such devices for
designing attentive UI is applicable for daily working
tasks on a large scale. We connected the eye tracker to
a computer that displays the dashboard on a 21-inch
screen with a resolution of 1920x1080 for all
participants. We developed the experimental software
in the .NET framework by using C# programming
language because Tobii provides the relevant SDKs for
developing gaze-aware UI (Core SDK) and collecting
data for research purposes (Pro SDK) in this
framework. We included gaze-aware UI elements (i.e.,
graphs, as in Figure 5) as areas of interest (AOIs) on
our dashboard to collect users’ gaze duration while
they explored the provided information in these AOIs
in real time. The collected gaze duration was
transferred to the feedback generator component. With
this approach, we were able to present the
individualized VAF in the form of gaze duration on
each AOI subsequent to the task. In addition to our
experimental software, we used the software Tobii Pro
EyeTracker Manager to calibrate the eye tracker
device at the beginning of each experimental session.
The quality of our research design and results depended
on factors that affect users’ attentional resource
allocation. Therefore, we maintained the internal
validity of our experiment as follows: First, we
evaluated the artifact instantiating our design in a
laboratory experiment that ensured high internal validity
by minimizing the influence of external factors that can
affect users’ performance. Second, we minimized the
influence of external factors that could affect the quality
of the collected eye movement data, such as movements
and light conditions. To do this, we controlled the
calibration’s quality several times during the experiment
with our developed experimental software using Tobii’s
SDKs. Third, we used the collected eye movement data
to verify that users conducted the experimental task
according to our instructions and removed users that did
not follow the instructions. Fourth, we controlled the
elements of the dashboard that affect users’ stimuli-
driven attention while they are exploring. Figure 5
displays the dashboard layout that we designed and used
for this experiment.
Journal of the Association for Information Systems
533
Figure 5. The Information Dashboard Designed to Control for Stimulus-Driven Attention
This dashboard includes six charts, which we designed
in such a way that they have almost similar complexity.
All six charts are of the same type (bar chart) to
minimize potential distraction due to different visual
formats (Kelton et al., 2010), and all charts, words, and
numbers are equal in size (Alberts, 2017). We chose
six chunks of information for our experiment because
seven (plus or minus two) chunks of information
represent the maximum capacity for individuals’
working memory capacity (Miller, 1956). To control
the influences of interactive features on users’
attention (Liu and Stasko, 2010) the dashboard
includes only static charts. The dashboard uses gray
colors with similar variations to control for a potential
color impact on users’ attention (Bera, 2016). To
summarize, the same visualization format, size,
number of information chunks, lacking interactive
features, and gray color, we argue that from an
information representation perspective, the six charts
have similar complexity.
We acknowledge that in having a similar complexity
across all charts, our dashboard does not represent a
real-world scenario. Using elements that influence
users’ stimulus-driven attention is common in real-
world dashboards, and highly impacts users’
attentional resource allocation (Alberts, 2017; Pauwels
et al., 2009; Yigitbasioglu & Velcu, 2012). However,
our controlled dashboard design enables us to track the
users’ goal-directed attention during the experiment.
We followed this approach to maintain a high level of
internal validity regarding users’ attentional resource
allocation, attention shift rate, and attentional resource
management. We were thereby able to prevent
potential biases from stimulus-based attention and
focus on goal-directed attention in our study.
5.2.3 Experimental Procedure
We started the experiment by calibrating the eye
trackers using Tobii Pro Eye Tracker Manager before
we started our self-developed experimental software.
The software first displayed instructions to the
participants and required them to start the experimental
task manually. In the instructions, we outlined the
scenario of the experiment and the experimental task’s
steps. We told participants to imagine being a sales
manager of a company. They had recently joined the
Title of the dashboard
Experimental timer
A static dashboard with six AOIs all include same:
graph type, size, number of information chunks, no color, no
interactive options
Each graph is considered to
be an Area of Interest (AOI)
Designing Attentive Information Dashboards
534
sales organization and were about to meet with their
supervisor. A few minutes before the meeting, they
received the sales report from the last six months in a
dashboard format. We asked participants to prepare for
this meeting by exploring and memorizing the
company’s status regarding the provided sales data.
Further, we informed them of the time available for
this task (120 seconds) and mentioned that the
experimental software included a timer for tracking the
remaining time for each step of the experimental task.
Moreover, we told the participants that they would
receive additional information after exploring the
dashboard (i.e., in the VAF phase) and would
subsequently be given a second chance to explore the
dashboard (i.e., in the revisit phase). The instruction
ended with control questions to ensure that participants
properly understood the experimental steps and the
information we had provided on the dashboard.
After completing the instruction step, we showed the
participants a simplified version of the experiment’s
dashboard (providing no VAF) to enable them to
familiarize themselves with the software and
experimental task. After completing this step, we
asked them to rest for two minutes before starting the
main part of the experiment. We added this break to
control for carry-over effects between the trial and the
main part of the experiment.
Figure 6 depicts the steps for the main part of the
experiment. In the first phase of data exploration,
participants received the dashboard and scrutinized it for
120 seconds. After that, they were interrupted for 30
seconds. In this step, participants received one of the two
VAF treatments (individualized VAF or general VAF)
based on their group assignment. Subsequently, in the
revisit phase, we asked participants to revisit the same
dashboard for an additional 60 seconds. In the last step
of the experimental task, participants provided their
demographics. Finally, we asked them to rest for a few
minutes and get ready for the working memory capacity
tests that we performed using the visuospatial working
memory capacity test (Kessels et al. 2000) and digit
working memory capacity test (Conway et al., 2005)
from the PEBL test battery (Mueller & Piper, 2014).
5.2.4 Treatment Design: Visual Attention
Feedback
Based on our proposed design, the individualized VAF
should present the summary of users’ previous
attentional resource allocations to increase their self-
awareness. Therefore, we instantiated the second
design principle in such a way as to present the actual
gaze duration on each visual feature (e.g., charts,
tables, etc.) on the dashboard in a time format. We
assumed that providing such information would enable
users to properly assess their previous attentional
resource allocation, and subsequently, when required,
to improve their attention allocation. Figure 7
visualizes an instantiation of the individualized VAF
that exhibits the user’s gaze duration on a dashboard
with six visual features (see Part 2), similar to the
experiment’s dashboard. In addition to the
individualized VAF, we provided the following
general text-based explanation (see Part 1):
Many users have a problem allocate[ing]
their attention properly while using
information dashboards. In the following,
you can see your attention allocation so far
based on the time that you looked at each
chart. Please think about your attention
allocation performance in the previous step
and then you will have one more minute to
continue exploring the dashboard.
This individualized VAF was provided to the treatment
group in our experiment. The control group did not
receive additional information on their individualized
gaze duration values in the form of graphical or text-
based information; they only received general VAF in
the form of the following text:
Many users have a problem allocate[ing]
their attention properly while using
information dashboards. Please think about
your attention allocation performance in
the previous step and then you will have one
more minute to continue exploring the
dashboard.
5.2.5 Measurements
In this study, we collected and analyzed the users’ eye
movement based on predefined areas of interest
(AOIs) on the dashboard. The dashboard included six
charts, each of which we considered to be one AOI. As
Figure 8 shows, we named six AOIs based on their
position on the dashboard layout. We use the AOIs’
names to discuss the results in the following sections.
Additionally, we measured several dependent and
participant-specific control variables during different
steps of the experiment. Table 2 displays a summary of
all measurements.
Our dependent variables focus on different facts of
users’ information processing regarding their
attentional resource allocation and management, as
well as attention shift rates. First, we measured users’
attentional resource allocation, following Cheung et
al.’s (2017) suggestions. Based on this study, users’
fixation duration and the number of fixations on each
predefined AOI are treated as each user’s attentional
resource allocation on that AOI.
Journal of the Association for Information Systems
535
Figure 6. The Experiments Procedure Used to Evaluate Proposed Design Principles
Figure 7. Instantiation of Design Principle 2: Individualized Visual Attention Feedback
Figure 8. Names Assigned to the Six AOIs on the Dashboard Based on Their Position
First Phase
(Data Exploration) VAF Phase Revisit Phase
(Continue Data
Exploration) Final Survey
(Demographics) WMC Tests
120 sec.
30 sec.
60 sec.
User’s Gaze Data is Collected
Part 1:
general explanation
Part 2:
gaze duration values on
each chart as time format
AOI1 AOI2 AOI3
AOI6
AOI5AOI4
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
Row 1
Row 2
Designing Attentive Information Dashboards
536
Table 2. The Dependent Variables and Controls Used in this Study
Construct
Definition
Measurement
References
Information
processing
(revisit phase)
Attentional
resource allocation
Users performance in
allocating attention to
previously low-attended AOIs
and ignoring previously high-
attended AOIs.
Eye tracking
(fixation duration,
number of fixations)
(Cheung et al., 2017;
Just & Carpenter, 1980;
Qvarfordt et al., 2010)
Attention shift rate
The number of instances
directing attention toward
another AOI.
Eye tracking
(total number of
transitions pairs)
(Blascheck et al., 2014;
Hong et al., 2004)
Information
processing
(end of the task)
Attentional
resource
management
The ability to distribute the
attention properly across all
stimuli on the screen.
Eye tracking
(variance of fixation
duration on six AOIs)
Self-defined
Controls
Visuospatial
working memory
capacity
The capacity of users’ visuo-
spatial memory.
Corsi span
(Kessels et al., 2000)
Digit working
memory capacity
The capacity of users’ ability
to memorize digit numbers.
Digit span
(Conway et al., 2005)
To assess users’ attentional resource allocation, we
compared the fixation duration and number of
fixations of the first visit to the dashboard with the
revisit phases, based on six AOIs. According to
chance, each AOI (i.e., each chart) should receive
(100/6 = 16.67%) of the attentional resource
allocation. This was subtracted from the actual
attentional resource allocation percentage, which
yielded a score reflecting whether a given AOI was
attended to more (or less) than the theoretical average.
We treated the revisit phase as an opportunity to
enhance information processing performance by using
a higher attentional resource allocation on the
previously low attended charts in the revisit phase.
Second, we measured users’ attentional shift rate in
the revisit phase. This measure shows how the user
centers attention on a single stimulus, or a limited set
of stimuli, rather than how the user shifts attention
between all the elements. In eye tracking research
users’ attentional shift rate between AOIs is used to
explain how focused the users’ attention is (Bednarik
& Tukiainen, 2006, 2008). The attention shift rate
between AOIs is measured by the number of
transitions, indicated by the movement of the eyes
from one AOI to another (we ignored transitions within
the same AOI). Consequently, the transition matrix
represents the attention shift rate between all possible
combinations of AOIs (Ponsoda et al., 1995). The
transition matrix is a descriptive summary
representation of the collected eye movement data that
provides support for the analysis of users’ data
exploration behavior (Blascheck et al., 2014; Burch et
al., 2011; Kurzhals et al., 2016).
Third, we measured users’ attentional resource
management at the end of the data exploration task. As
explained in Section 5.2.2, all six AOIs on the
dashboard have the same complexity and level of
importance. Therefore, a more even distribution of
attention between all six AOIs would indicate a high
attentional resource management performance. We
calculated the standard deviation (SD) of fixation
durations and number of fixations of all six AOIs at the
end of the data exploration task. Lower SD values
indicated that these six variables are closer to each
other and that users properly distributed their attention.
In contrast, a higher SD value indicates a lower
attentional resource allocation management
performance.
We measured several participant-specific control
variables (demographics as well as two different
working memory capacity types) in addition to our
three main variables. Regarding demographics, we
captured gender, age, and the participant’s experience
of working with dashboards through survey questions.
We also measured the users’ working memory capacity
from two perspectives. We chose users’ working
memory capacity as a control variable because of its
importance in processing information, as described in
Section 2.1.2. Users’ working memory capacity
predicts their attention control (Kane & Engle, 2003)
and has been defined as one important individual
characteristic of users interacting with visualized
information (Borkin et al., 2016; Haroz & Whitney,
2012; Healey & Enns, 2012; Toker et al., 2013).
Researchers have defined working memory span tasks
as the most adequate instrument for comparing various
individuals’ working memory capacity with one
another (Conway et al., 2005). Also, individuals have
different capabilities in remembering different types of
information. Consequently, there are different working
memory spans that can be measured. In this study, we
measured two types of working memory span that
users have, namely their digit and visuospatial working
memory capacities. This choice was motivated by the
Journal of the Association for Information Systems
537
fact that dashboard users mostly deal with digits and
visualized information on the dashboard. We collected
the users’ visual working memory capacity by running
a visuospatial Corsi block-tapping test (Kessels et al.,
2000). To measure the number of digits that an
individual user can memorize, we used the digit span
test (Conway et al., 2005). Both tests report the
working memory span value, defined as the longest
sequence a user can correctly repeat in each test. The
higher the working memory span value, the higher the
working memory capacity.
6 Results
6.1 Manipulation and Control Checks
Before testing the hypotheses, we checked whether the
random-assignment between-participant conditions
was successful or not by testing whether the two
groups differed in their working memory capacity and
the three demographic variables.
The chi-squared test for comparing participants’
gender per condition (individual VAF and general
VAF) was not significant (chi-square = 0.558, p =
0.45). Moreover, as Table 3 shows, the Wilcoxon
signed-rank test results for all the other control
variables (age, experience level, Corsi span, and digit
span) did not show any difference between the two
groups. Thus, we assume that our random assignment
was successful. In addition, to confirm that all users
had the same visual behavior in the first visit phase on
the dashboard, we analyzed the users’ eye movement
data and compared their attentional resource allocation
and management, as well as the attention shift rate
between the two groups. The results indicate that users
in the two groups had similar visual behavior before
receiving different VAF types. We present the details
of this analysis separately in the following sections.
6.2 Attentional Resource Allocation
Figure 9 shows the heatmaps based on the users’
attentional resource allocation in both groups. The left
column displays the attentional resource allocation of
the first visit phase and the right column shows the
revisit phase. In the first visit phase, visual behavior
did not differ between the groups, while the attentional
resource allocation was primarily influenced by the
position of the AOIs. In both groups, the left-sided
charts (AOI1, AOI4) received the most attention,
followed by the charts in the middle (AOI2, AOI5),
with the charts on the right side (AOI3, AOI6)
receiving the least attention. Similarly, a column-based
observation reveals that charts in the first row (AOI1,
AOI2, AOI3) have a higher attentional resource
allocation compared to the corresponding charts in the
second row (AO4, AOI5, AOI6). These results confirm
that users are biased toward allocating their attention
to the left and top of the dashboards, similar to other
UI types (Lorigo et al., 2008; Nielsen, 2006).
During the revisit phase, the general VAF group’s
results show that users repeated their visual behavior,
while users in the individualized VAF changed it.
Investigating both rows in more detail shows that for
the general VAF group, the left-sided AOIs have
higher values than the right-sided AOIs. Similarly, the
column-based investigation indicates that the general
VAF group had higher values for the AOIs in the upper
position compared to the AOIs in the lower position.
However, users in the individualized VAF group had
more attentional resource allocation on the right-sided
AOIs and higher attentional resource allocation on
AOIs positioned in the lower row. Overall, by
qualitatively analyzing the visual behavior of both
groups via heatmaps, we found that users who received
individualized VAF improved their attentional
resource allocation in the revisit phase, while users
with the general VAF tended to repeat their visual
behavior in the revisit phase.
For testing the attentional resource allocation
performance hypothesis in the revisit phase (H1), we
carried out repeated-measures regression analyses based
on the percentage fixation duration and number of
fixations. In addition, prior to the analysis, we centered
the attentional resource allocation scores around the mean
average percentage (100/6). Accordingly, zero reflects
the average percentage of attentional resource allocation
spent on an AOI at a given point in time.
Table 3. Comparing the Control Variables
Control variable
Conditions
Median
Mean
SD
W
P-value
R
Age
Individualized VAF
22.50
22.77
2.75
851.5
0.108
-0.167
General VAF
24.00
24.06
3.8
Experience level
Individualized VAF
5.00
5.00
1.38
856.5
0.117
-0.163
General VAF
5.67
5.42
1.43
WMC: Corsi span
Individualized VAF
6.00
6.01
0.84
1139.5
0.509
-0.068
General VAF
5.50
5.94
1.09
WMC: digit span
Individualized VAF
7.00
7.32
1.27
1074.5
0.880
-0.015
General VAF
7.00
7.25
1.33
Note: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01
Designing Attentive Information Dashboards
538
Figure 9. Heatmaps of Both Groups in the First and Revisited Phases
In the first model, we predicted the fixation duration
per AOI in the revisit phase from the fixation duration
of that AOI in the first visit, the experimental condition
(0 = general VAF group; 1 = individualized VAF
group), and their interaction. First, the effect of the
fixation duration percentage in the first visit was
significant; b = 1.145 percentage, SE = 0.223
percentage, t(548) = 5.129, p < 0.001. This indicated
that in the general VAF group, the fixation duration of
an AOI was a strong predictor of the same AOI’s
fixation duration in the revisit phase. In other words,
participants showed consistency in their behavior as
expected regarding the fixation duration. Figure 10, on
the left, shows the positive slope in the general VAF
group. An AOI that received a higher percentage of
attentional resource allocation (in terms of fixation
duration and number of fixations) in the first visit, also
received more attentional resource allocation in the
revisit phase. Second, there was a significant
interaction of fixation duration percentage in the first
visit and the individualized VAF group; b = -0.75
percentage, SE = 0.138 percentage, t(548) = -5.468, p
< 0.001. This shows that the individualized VAF
compensated for the fixation duration effect of the first
visit on the fixation duration of the revisit phase
(Figure 10, left side). Thus, compared to the general
VAF group, an AOI that had high fixation duration in
the first visit, had relatively less fixation duration in the
second phase for the individualized VAF group. Vice
versa, an AOI with a previously low fixation duration
had a high fixation duration in the second phase.
Similar to fixation duration, an analogous analysis for the
number of fixations also yielded two significant effects:
First, the effect of the number of fixations in the first visit
was significant; b = 1.211 percentage, SE = 0.221
percentage, t(548) = 5.467, p < 0.001. This indicates that
in the general VAF group, the number of fixations on an
AOI strongly predicted the number of fixations on the
same AOI in the revisit phase, and participants showed
consistency in their behavior regarding the number of
fixations. Second, the effect of the number of fixations in
the first visit on the number of fixations in the revisit phase
was compensated for by the individualized VAF (Figure
10, right side). Crucially, the results show that the number
of fixations in the first visit significantly interacted with the
individualized VAF group, b = -0.812 percentage, SE =
0.133 percentage, t(548) =-6.067, p < 0.001.
To summarize, the qualitative analysis results of the
heatmap, as well as quantitative analyses for fixation
duration and number of fixations, show that the
attentional resource allocation performance of users
with the individualized VAF improved in comparison to
the users with general VAF. Participants with the
general VAF were consistent, and AOIs that were highly
attended to in the first phase also received more attention
in the revisit phase. However, for the users with
individualized VAF, an AOI that received more
attentional resource allocation (in terms of fixation
duration and number of fixations) in the first visit,
received less attentional resource allocation in the revisit
phase, and vice versa. Therefore, H1 is supported.
First Visit Phase Revisit Phase
General VAF
Individualized VAF
Journal of the Association for Information Systems
539
Figure 10. The Interaction Between and After Feedback for Both Groups
6.3 Attention Shift Rate
Figure 11 displays the transition proportions between
the six AOIs in the first phase and the revisit phase for
both groups. In these matrixes, the number in the cell
represents the attention shift rate in percentage
between each possible pair of AOIs. The reason for
showing the proportions rather than the actual number
of transitions for each pair lies in the difference
between the data exploration time in the first visit (120
seconds), and the revisit phase (60 seconds). In
addition, the color scaling shows the differences
between values on these matrixes to facilitate the
qualitative analysis.
Figure 11 shows that in the first visit, both groups had
similar visual behavior, focusing mostly on transitions
between AOI1 and AOI2. However, comparing the
transition matrix of the first to revisit phase shows that
the users with individualized VAF changed their
strategy and investigated the relationship between
AOIs on the right side of the dashboard. For this group,
the transitions between AOI5 and AOI6 have the
highest value while for the general VAF group the
transitions between AOI1 and AOI2 remained as the
highest value. A comparison of the heatmaps to the
transition matrixes indicates that the users with
individualized VAF not only had higher attentional
resource allocation on previously low attended AOIs
but they also investigated the relationships between
them more specifically. Also, users in the general VAF
group repeated their attentional resource allocation and
investigated the relationship between them rather than
focusing on others.
As discussed in Section 5.2.5, the total number of
transitions in each phase represents the user’s attention
shift rate in that phase. To compare the attention shift
rate in the first visit phase, we conducted an
independent t-test between individualized VAF (M =
77.66, SD = 24.21) and general VAF (M = 83.56, SD =
21.66) groups, and found no significant difference
t(86.59) = -1.22, p = 0.22. Therefore, we argue that the
two groups had the same attention shift rate in the first
visit phase. However, in the revisit phase, the results of
the Wilcoxon rank-sum test indicate that users with
individualized VAF (Mdn = 35) had significantly
lower attention shift rates than the users with general
VAF (Mdn = 45), W= 661.5, p = 0.002, r = -0.321.
Thus, based on the analysis of the eye movement data,
H2 is supported.
6.4 Attentional Resource Management
Figure 12 shows the interaction plot for fixation duration
and number of fixations that shows how users’
attentional resource management changed during the
experiment. The attentional resource management of
users with individualized VAF improved massively,
while this is not the case for users with general VAF (the
lower SD values among six AOIs represent better
attentional resource management).
Designing Attentive Information Dashboards
540
Figure 11. Transition Matrix of the Users in Both Groups
Figure 12. Interaction Effect of VAF in Groups and Phases on Attentional Resource Management Performance
First Phase Revisit Phase
General VAF
total number of transitions
(Mean=83.56 , SD=21.66) total number of transitions
(Mean=45.52 , SD=13.67)
Individualized VAF
total number of transitions
(Mean=77.66, SD=24.21) total number of transitions
(Mean=37.52 , SD=15.38)
AOI1 AOI2 AOI3 AOI4 AOI5 AOI6
AOI1 -
10.77%
1.55%
5.50%
2.17%
0.38%
AOI2
10.01%
-
7.37%
0.91%
3.86%
0.70%
AOI3
1.26%
6.00%
-
0.79%
0.88%
5.59%
AOI4
5.74%
0.88%
0.26%
-
5.03%
0.64%
AOI5
2.93%
4.77%
0.70%
4.65%
-
4.77%
AOI6
0.59%
0.67%
4.77%
0.97%
4.86%
-
AOI1 AOI2 AOI3 AOI4 AOI5 AOI6
AOI1 -
8.12%
1.45%
3.39%
1.33%
0.48%
AOI2
7.45%
-
6.84%
0.73%
4.18%
1.27%
AOI3
1.21%
5.88%
-
0.79%
1.03%
7.75%
AOI4
3.94%
0.67%
0.36%
-
4.85%
0.85%
AOI5
1.70%
4.24%
0.67%
4.97%
-
7.69%
AOI6
0.73%
1.33%
7.15%
0.97%
8.00%
-
AOI1 AOI2 AOI3 AOI4 AOI5 AOI6
AOI1 -
9.82%
1.37%
5.53%
2.24%
0.30%
AOI2
10.07%
-
6.51%
1.15%
3.47%
0.55%
AOI3
0.97%
4.99%
-
0.70%
1.05%
6.66%
AOI4
5.46%
1.47%
0.27%
-
5.06%
0.72%
AOI5
2.69%
4.94%
0.60%
4.69%
-
5.41%
AOI6
0.32%
0.62%
5.81%
1.07%
5.48%
-
AOI1 AOI2 AOI3 AOI4 AOI5 AOI6
AOI1 -
10.25%
1.24%
5.13%
2.61%
0.37%
AOI2
10.89%
-
6.73%
1.05%
3.52%
0.73%
AOI3
0.87%
5.72%
-
2.29%
0.82%
6.45%
AOI4
4.53%
1.28%
0.14%
-
5.31%
0.82%
AOI5
2.75%
3.84%
0.78%
5.17%
-
5.35%
AOI6
0.46%
1.01%
5.49%
0.87%
5.58%
-
Journal of the Association for Information Systems
541
Table 4. Comparing Users Attentional Resource Management Performance in Both Groups
Between subject analyses
Dependent variable
Exp. Phase
Condition
Median
W
P-value
R
Attentional resource
management
performance
(based on fixation
durations)
End of the first phase
General VAF
5.40
1019
0.770
-0.029
Individualized VAF
5.37
End of the task
General VAF
5.33
1364
0.015*
-0.251
Individualized VAF
4.14
Attentional resource
management
performance
(based on number of
fixations)
End of the first phase
General VAF
4.77
868
0.143
-0.150
Individualized VAF
5.23
End of the task
General VAF
4.30
1322
0.037*
-0.216
Individualized VAF
3.56
Within subject analyses
Dependent variable
Conditions
Exp. Phase
Median
V
P-value
R
Attentional resource
management
performance
(based on fixation
durations)
General VAF
End of the first phase
5.40
754
0.089
-0.173
End of the task
5.33
Individualized VAF
End of the first phase
5.37
807
<0.001
***
-0.403
End of the task
4.14
Attentional resource
management
performance
(based on number of
fixations)
General VAF
End of the first phase
4.77
767
0.066
-0.187
End of the task
4.33
Individualized VAF
End of the first phase
5.23
869
<0.001
***
-0.498
End of the task
3.56
Note: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001
First, we conducted a Wilcoxon’s rank-sum test to
investigate differences between the two conditions at
the end of the first visit (between-subject analysis).
There was no difference between the two groups in
users’ attentional resource management at the end of
the first visit phase for both fixation durations (p =
0.77) and number of fixations (p = 0.14) (see Table 4).
This is aligned with our previous findings that users of
the two groups had the same visual behavior in the first
visit. However, the results show significant differences
for both fixation duration (p = 0.01) and number of
fixations (p = 0.03) at the end of the task. Second, we
investigated users’ attentional resource management
by comparing each group in the two phases (within-
subject analysis). The results of the Wilcoxon signed-
rank test show that, comparing the two phases, the
attentional resource management of users with
individualized VAF for both fixation duration (p <
0.001) and number of fixations (p < 0.001) differ
significantly. However, the general VAF did not
support users to improve their attentional resource
management significantly.
The findings of the within-subject and between-subject
analyses of the attentional resource management show
that at the end of the data exploration task, users with
individualized VAF had better attentional resource
management than the users with general VAF. Thus,
H3 is supported.
7 Discussion
The laboratory experiment’s results demonstrate that
the proposed design principles and their instantiation
in a software artifact increase users’ attentional
resource allocation and attention shift rate performance
in the revisit phase (confirming H1 and H2) and
improve attentional resource management
performance at the end of the task (confirming H3).
The findings confirm our assumption that a dashboard
providing individualized VAF supports users in
processing information in a comparatively better way
than dashboards without such individualized feedback.
In the following sections, we discuss this study’s
findings from a theoretical and practical point of view.
Subsequently, we present the study’s limitations and
delineate opportunities for future research.
7.1 Theoretical Implications
Vom Brocke et al. (2013) have emphasized that only a
limited number of contributions in the DSR community
make actual use of the potential of neuroscience tools
(e.g., eye trackers) to design advanced built-in capability
for IT artifacts. To the best of our knowledge, our DSR
project is the first that investigates the integration of
real-time eye movement data as a built-in capability for
dashboards. Our study provides prescriptive knowledge
on integrating real-time eye movement data for
Designing Attentive Information Dashboards
542
supporting users in managing their limited attention
capacity by providing individualized VAF. We present a
system architecture for attentive information dashboards
that supports data exploration through three components
(i.e., a dashboard subsystem, an eye tracking subsystem,
and an attention-aware subsystem) and two theoretically
grounded design principles that provide prescriptive
knowledge on how to deliver individualized VAF.
We justify the proposed design referring to theory on
human attention limitations based on Broadbent’s filter
theory (Broadbent, 1958). Also, we explain the different
stages of processing information on dashboards and the
important role of users’ attention during this processing
using an adapted version of Wickens et al.’s (2016)
human information processing stages. Further, we justify
using eye movement data as an approximation for users’
attention based on the eye-mind assumption (Just &
Carpenter, 1980) and on established studies that focused
on the users’ gaze direction and cognitive processing
(Kowler, 2011; Rayner, 1998). We evaluated the
proposed design in a controlled laboratory experiment
and our results confirm the derived hypotheses. Our
findings highlight the supportive role of individualized
VAF in improving users’ information processing
performance during data exploration tasks. The
experiment’s data analysis reveals that users receiving
individualized VAF (Design Principles 1 and 2
instantiated) eventually exhibited better attentional
resource allocation and management and better attention
shift rate performance. In contrast, the control group
receiving only general VAF had difficulties in managing
their limited attention.
To summarize, our theoretically grounded design
principles contribute valuable prescriptive knowledge on
how to design attentive information dashboards that are
capable of supporting users in their data exploration tasks.
Following Gregor and Hevner’s (2013) DSR contribution
framework, we consider our contribution to be an
improvement because we successfully developed a new
solution (individualized VAF based on real-time eye
movement data) to the existing problem (managing
limited attentional resources). Our findings can therefore
support the extension of using real-time eye movement
data to design and develop attentive information systems
beyond the dashboard used in this study. Also, beyond the
use of such support in dashboards, our findings can be
transferred to design other attentive UI for IS applications.
7.2 Practical Implications
The use of eye trackers has moved from the controlled
lab environment to everyday settings (Chuang et al.,
2019), and the number of applications that work with
eye tracking has increased during the last couple of
years. Tobii, one of the leading companies in this field,
has announced that enterprises should prepare for eye
tracking technology that is coming to the devices we
use every day (Eskilsson, 2019). So far, commercial
BI&A tool providers such as Tableau use eye tracking
devices to understand users’ behavior while they are
exploring dashboards (Alberts, 2017); however, the
use of eye movement data in real time has not yet been
integrated into BI&A platforms (Silva et al., 2019).
Therefore, our findings support practitioners in solving
existing attention-relevant challenges of dashboard
users by designing features based on the proposed
prescriptive knowledge regarding the design of
attentive information dashboards.
In recent years, technology firms have recognized the
potential of neuroscience technologies in advancing
human-computer interaction (vom Brocke et al.,
2013). Thus far, the high price and complexity of
neuroscience tools have presented challenges to using
these devices in the working environment. However,
the use of eye tracking technology has recently
increased due to the availability of cheaper, faster,
more accurate, and easier-to-use eye trackers
(Duchowski, 2017). In this study, we used Tobii Eye
Tracker 4C, one of the least expensive eye trackers in
the market (Farnsworth, 2019) to design and develop
an attentive information dashboard providing
individualized VAF. Our work represents an
important step toward supporting practitioners to use
not only the mouse and keyboard as input devices but
also the eye tracker as an innovative, interactive
device for work environments.
Further, the findings of our study can support eye-based
application developers in designing data exploration
support features for enterprise applications beyond
dashboards. For example, SAP considered the use of eye
tracking devices for the next version of their enterprise
systems (Galer, 2019). In addition, Microsoft released the
use of eye control on Windows 10 to facilitate the
interaction between users and the system (Microsoft,
2019). The functionality can be integrated into self-
tracking dashboards such as the MyAnalytics dashboard
developed by Microsoft (2020) for workplaces. It can also
support users in managing their limited attentional
resources. Further, this knowledge can be transferred to
applications that appear in augmented and virtual reality
(AR/VR). Specifically, in virtual reality, eyes are known
as the main source of understanding users intentions.
Thus, the design principles introduced in this DSR project
might be used in designing individualized VAF in VR or
AR-based information systems.
Another interesting finding of our study is that most of
the participants started in the top-left area of the
dashboard and focused their attentional resource
management on this part of the dashboard. This finding
agrees with existing research that found similar
patterns for dashboards and other Uis (Lorigo et al.,
2008; Nielsen, 2006; Soegaard, 2020). Thus, we
confirm the existing design suggestion for practitioners
to place important elements of a dashboard in the top-
left area of the dashboard.
Journal of the Association for Information Systems
543
7.3 Limitations and Future Research
Although our research project’s findings clearly
demonstrate the positive effect of attentive information
dashboards on managing limited attentional resources,
we also recognize some limitations that we need to
mention.
First, we used Tobii Eye Tracker 4C for both designing
and evaluating the proposed design principles. This
device is a low-cost eye tracker that was mainly
designed for eye-based interactive features, such as in
gaming contexts. The technical capabilities of these
eye trackers were sufficient to support us in designing
attentive information dashboards by tracking users’
eye movement data in real time and providing
individualized VAF based on the data. However, for
the evaluation part, we could have used more
professional eye trackers that collect eye movement
data more accurately and also collect additional data,
such as pupil dilation (Buettner et al., 2018;
Fehrenbacher & Djamasbi, 2017). With more
advanced technology, future research could analyze
users’ eye movements between single elements within
one chart.
Our study defined rather broad AOIs (600 x 394
pixels), given the technical capabilities of the selected
eye trackers and the goal of our analysis. The ability to
capture the eye movement data of smaller AOIs could
enable the investigation of more realistic dashboards
with uneven complexity distributions (e.g., charts of
different sizes, charts with varying content, etc.).
Further, collecting additional data such as pupil
dilation could enable the analysis of users’ mental
effort during their interaction with the dashboard and
while receiving feedback (Paas et al., 2003). Thereby,
future research could, for example, investigate whether
providing individualized VAF decreases or increases
users’ mental effort in the feedback phase as well as in
the subsequent revisit phase. Our findings show that
providing individualized VAF improves users’
attentional resource allocation and management;
however, it would be interesting to follow up on users’
mental effort during the data exploration phase.
Second, the dashboard used in this study does not
represent a real-world dashboard design. As discussed
in Section 5.2.2, we selected this design to explore
users’ goal-driven attention by controlling their
stimulus-driven attention (Corbetta & Shulman, 2002;
Desimone & Duncan, 1995). However, features that
derive stimulus-driven attention play an important role
in the effectiveness of dashboards (Pauwels et al.,
2009; Yigitbasioglu & Velcu, 2012). For example, the
color, orientation, and size of dashboard elements can
guide users’ attention toward these salient objects
(Treisman & Gelade, 1980; Wolfe & Horowitz, 2004).
Moreover, we controlled for interactive features (e.g.,
filtering, zooming, etc.) and used a static dashboard,
but most real-world dashboards in the market provide
interactive features to support users in exploring
information from different perspectives. We decided to
control the dashboard’s design, the complexity of the
dashboard content, and the lack of interactive features
in our study because we wanted to focus on the
influence of the individualized VAF. Therefore, it was
important to conduct the experiment with a high
internal validity by limiting other potentially
influential factors affecting users’ attentional resource
allocation and management and their attention shift
rates. Future research could investigate more realistic
dashboards with, for example, varying complexity and
interactive features. Additionally, there is an
opportunity to conduct further research that considers
the importance of certain information provided in
dashboards based on the computation of information
entropy (Krejtz et al., 2014, 2016). Analyzing eye
movement data (using more accurate eye trackers)
could highlight areas in the dashboard with high
information entropy. Such entropy-based models
could support the design of VAF types that consider
the importance of different information types and
guide users’ attention on that basis. Finally, we
believe that there is a need to conduct field studies
that focus on the impact of individualized VAF in
organizational environments.
Third, our study relies on eye movement data to track
users’ attentional resource allocation and management.
Human eye movement data demonstrates users overt
attention (Carrasco, 2011; Kowler, 2011). However,
Duchowski (2017, p. 13) has pointed out that “in all
eye tracking work … we assume that attention is linked
to foveal gaze direction, but we acknowledge that it
may not always be so. Roda (2006) has suggested
using eye trackers in addition to other bio-signals like
heart rate, EEG, brain signals with fMRI, etc. to design
attentive UI. Future research could, for example,
investigate the use of electroencephalogram (EEG) or
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data in
addition to eye movement data collected with an eye
tracker (Léger et al., 2014), which would enable more
accurate measurements of users’ attentional reactions
regarding the processing of information on
dashboards, receiving feedback on their behaviors, and
attention management. These findings could also be
used to revise or extend our first design principle by
utilizing additional sensory data to compute users’
attentional resource allocation.
Fourth, the individualized VAF provided in this study
is in the form of the gaze duration on each chart in a
time format. While this format was found to be
effective for our study, further feedback formats based
on eye movement visualization approaches are
Designing Attentive Information Dashboards
544
available (Blascheck et al., 2014). Future research
could investigate different gaze visualizations (e.g.,
heatmap, scan path, etc.) and/or animate forms of these
visualizations to provide individualized VAF from
different perspectives (Langner et al., 2020).
Fifth, in this study, we focused on improving users’
information processing performance through the
management of attentional resources, rather than on the
influence of attentive information dashboards on
business decisions. Previous studies have shown that
attention patterns can explain task performance (Bera et
al., 2019). Also, engaging users with the information on
dashboards may allow them to extract and remember
more detailed information (Healey & Enns, 2012).
Furthermore, usage of attentive information dashboards
may have impacts on users’ mental load, confidence
level, stress, etc. Future research could investigate the
impacts of attentive information dashboards beyond
attention management.
8 Conclusion
This study was motivated by challenges that users
experience in managing their limited attention when
exploring information dashboards. Following the DSR
paradigm, we provide a new solution to this problem
and articulate theoretically grounded design principles
for designing an innovative artifact: namely, the
attentive information dashboard. This artifact is
capable of tracking users’ eye movement data in real
time and can provide users with individualized VAF,
based on this data. Further, we evaluated the proposed
design in an eye tracking laboratory experiment with
92 participants. Our findings reveal the positive effect
of using individualized VAF on information
processing performance, focusing on attentional
resource allocation and management and on attention
shift rates. We contribute to research and practice
through prescriptive knowledge on how to design
attentive information dashboards.
Journal of the Association for Information Systems
545
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