Incremental Formalization and Visual Expression in Interactive Workspaces

Information used by computers often is more formal than humans prefer. For instance, information stored in relational databases is highly formalized and structured so computers can process it efficiently. However, people usually work with less-formal information naturally. There is a need to bridge the gap between computers' requirement and humans’ information need. This talk introduces interfaces that support human’s information need where intermediate semi-formal states are important and unpredictable idiosyncratic practices occur.