Methodology for Conceptual Navigational 3D Chart Assessment Based on Eye Tracking Measures

The aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive methodology for assessing the effectiveness of conceptual navigation maps. To achieve this, a set of indicators was developed to simplify and standardise the evaluation process. A key challenge in analysing the effectiveness of maps is the variety of ways to assess their effectiveness (eye-tracking measures, visual interpretation, questionnaires), which often leads to ambiguous interpretations. In the initial phase, three separate indicators were established: readability of the map, correctness of map symbol identification, and the time required to identify these objects. For the readability indicator, a correlation analysis with eye-tracking measurements and a heatmap decomposition was carried out, which partly reduced the complexity of the data. This led to the development of a single universal indicator, representing the overall effectiveness of the map in numerical form and allowing a simple comparison of maps. Based on the methodology developed, we were able to conclude that the designed 3D concept maps are more effective than their 2D counterparts. The methodology and universal indicator presented in this study can be applied in practice to evaluate entire series of concept maps and provide designers—including those outside academia—with indicator-based tools to evaluate the effectiveness of maps.