Although intelligence analysts are one of the main target users of visual analytics systems, we still do not understand their work practices and methodologies well. The lack of understanding about how intelligence analysts work and how they can benefit from visual analytics systems has created a gap between tools being developed and real world practices. I argue that we need a better understanding of these analysts and their tool usage to build systems that better support their tasks and add utility to their current work practices. By characterizing the analysis process and identifying leverage points for systems through empirical studies, I ultimately seek to develop a set of design guidelines and implications that can be used for building visual analytics systems for intelligence analysis.
['Youn ah Kang']
Informing design of systems for intelligence analysis: understanding users, user tasks, and tool usage