How do we understand a system with (so) many diagrams? Cognitive integration processes in diagrammatic reasoning

In order to understand diagrammatic reasoning with multiple diagrams, this study proposes a theoretical framework that focuses on the cognitive proces ses of perceptual and conceptual integration. The perceptual integration pr ocess involves establishing interdependence between relevant system element s that have been dispersed across multiple diagrams, while the conceptual i ntegration process involves generating and refining hypotheses about a syst em by combining higher-level information inferred from the diagrams. This s tudy applies a diagrammatic reasoning framework of a single diagram to asse ss the usability of multiple diagrams as an integral part of a system devel opment methodology. Our experiment evaluated the effectiveness and usabilit y of design guidelines to aid problem solving with multiple diagrams. The r esults of our experiment revealed that understanding a system represented b y multiple diagrams involves a process of searching for related information and of developing hypotheses about the target system. The results also sho wed that these perceptual and conceptual integration processes were facilit ated by incorporating visual cues and contextual information in the multipl e diagrams as representation aids. Visual cues indicate which elements in a diagram are related to elements in other diagrams; the contextual informat ion indicates how the individual datum in one diagram is related to the ove rall hypothesis about the entire system.