Exploring Visual Stability In Dynamic Graph Drawings: A Case Study

In this paper, we propose a mathematical model to measure the visual stability of dynamic graph drawings. Our approach was validated through a study, which combined the use of questionnaires and an eye-tracking device. The participants of the study had to track members of a software development community over five periods of time in three different dynamic graph drawings. The results suggest that dynamic graph drawings making use of fixed positions are more efficient in the visual search but are limited in the recognition of single elements. On the other hand, dynamic graph drawings with the minimal changes or a constant structure improve the recognition of single elements but lose efficiency in the visual search.