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Investigating User Interaction with Different Representations of Simulation Parameters","","Understanding complex parameter dependencies is critical for effective configuration and maintenance of software systems across domains such as CAE, enterprise resource planning, cloud infrastructure, and database management. Legacy tabular interfaces hinder comprehension, causing inefficient workflows, costly configuration errors, and reduced user trust. This research evaluates interactive Sankey diagrams versus traditional spreadsheet views using the PURE heuristic method with three expert evaluators across UX design, simulation, and software development tasks. Results show Sankey-based flow visualizations reduce cognitive load and interaction complexity while making parameter dependencies immediately visible, improving program comprehension for configuration-intensive systems.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/tables-or-sankey-diagrams-investigating-user-interaction-with-different-representations-of-simulation-parameters/665599/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/tables-or-sankey-diagrams-investigating-user-interaction-with-different-representations-of-simulation-parameters/665599.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Jiven","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-29",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":14},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Why are tabular interfaces a bottleneck in configuration-intensive CAE software?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Tabular interfaces make it hard for engineers to comprehend how parameters relate across the system, which slows workflows and increases the likelihood of costly configuration errors.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does the study evaluate Sankey diagrams compared to spreadsheet-style tables?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The paper uses a heuristic evaluation with the PURE method and three expert evaluators covering UX design, simulation, and software development, comparing a Sankey-based prototype against traditional tabular representations.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What measurable benefits do interactive Sankey diagrams provide?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The findings report significantly lower cognitive load and fewer interaction steps, and they make parameter dependencies immediately visible instead of requiring users to reconstruct relationships mentally.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},665599,1793305138,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":14,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":44,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":129,"read_time":143},1099513958607,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/100002390cf8733938c?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1778829742770036399","arXiv :2601 . 10232v1 [ cs .HC] 15 Jan 2026  \nTables or Sankey Diagrams? Investigating User Interaction with Different Representations of  \nSimulation Parameters  \nChoro Ulan uulu∗‡, Mikhail Kulyabin∗ , Katharina M Zeiner∗ , Jan Joosten∗ , Nuno Miguel Martins Pacheco∗ , Filippos Petridis∗ , Rebecca Johnson∗ , Jan Bosch†‡  \n,  \nand Helena Holmstrm Olsson§  \n∗ Siemens AG, Munich, Germany  \nEmail: [choro.ulan-uulu@siemens.com](choro.ulan-uulu@siemens.com)  \n†Department of Computer Science and Engineering,  \nChalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden  \n‡Department of Mathematics and Computer Science,  \nEindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands  \nEmail: [j.bosch1@tue.nl](j.bosch1@tue.nl)  \n§ Department of Computer Science and Media Technology,  \nMalm University, Malm, Sweden  \nEmail: [helena.holmstrom.olsson@mau.se](helena.holmstrom.olsson@mau.se)  \nAbstract—Understanding complex parameter dependencies is critical for effective configuration and maintenance of software systems across diverse domains—from Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) and enterprise resource planning to cloud infrastructure and database management systems. However, legacy tabular interfaces create a major bottleneck: engineers cannot easily comprehend how parameters relate across the system, leading to inefficient workflows, costly configuration errors, and reduced system trust—a fundamental program comprehension challenge in configuration-intensive software. This research evaluates whether interactive Sankey diagrams can improve comprehension of parameter dependencies compared to traditional spreadsheet interfaces. We employed a heuristic evaluation using the PURE method with three expert evaluators (UX design, simulation, and software development specialists) to compare a Sankey-based prototype to traditional tabular representations for core engineering tasks. Our key contribution demonstrates that flow-based parameter visualizations significantly reduce cognitive load (51% lower PURE scores) and interaction complexity (56% fewer steps) compared to traditional tables, while making parameter dependencies immediately visible rather than requiring mental reconstruction. By explicitly visualizing parameter relationships, Sankey diagrams address a core software visualization challenge: helping users comprehend complex system configurations without requiring deep tool-specific knowledge. While demonstrated through CAE software, this research contributes to program comprehension and software visualization by showing that dependency-aware visualizations can significantly improve understanding of configuration-intensive systems. The findings have implications for any software domain where comprehending complex parameter relationships is essential for effective system use, maintenance, and evolution—from database tuning interfaces to build configuration tools and enterprise system management.  \nIndex Terms—Parameter Visualization and Manipulation, Tabular Interfaces, Sankey Diagrams, Configuration Management, UX  \nI. INTRODUCTION  \nComputer-aided engineering (CAE) software employs mathematical models to predict system behavior across engineering domains [1], enabling virtual testing that reduces costs and accelerates development [2], [3] . These tools have become essential in industries from aerospace to automotive, where engineers simulate everything from aerodynamics to manufacturing quality [4], [3] . This approach helps improve product designs and assists in resolving engineering problems. CAE encompasses the simulation, validation, and optimization of products, processes, and manufacturing tools [3] . CAE software is heavily connected with the engineering field. It has numerous parameters users can tune to optimize their models [5] . Modern CAE products include Siemens Simcenter suite [6], [7], [8], [9], ANSYS Mechanical [10] and Altair HyperWorks [11] . They use different parameters to describe the physical processes when accurately simu","cbCaimFUZUaQufYz","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimFUZUaQufYz","pdf",420494,"English","# I. Introduction\n## Challenges in CAE parameter comprehension\n## Experimental setup and sensitivity management\n## Need for interactive interfaces beyond data display","[{\"question\":\"Why are tabular interfaces a bottleneck in configuration-intensive CAE software?\",\"answer\":\"Tabular interfaces make it hard for engineers to comprehend how parameters relate across the system, which slows workflows and increases the likelihood of costly configuration errors.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the study evaluate Sankey diagrams compared to spreadsheet-style tables?\",\"answer\":\"The paper uses a heuristic evaluation with the PURE method and three expert evaluators covering UX design, simulation, and software development, comparing a Sankey-based prototype against traditional tabular representations.\"},{\"question\":\"What measurable benefits do interactive Sankey diagrams provide?\",\"answer\":\"The findings report significantly lower cognitive load and fewer interaction steps, and they make parameter dependencies immediately visible instead of requiring users to reconstruct relationships mentally.\"}]","Tables or Sankey Diagrams? Investigating User Interaction with Different Representations of Simulation Parameters | PDF",23]