VAST 2006 Contest - A tale of Alderwood

Published

November 2, 2006

Author(s)

Georges Grinstein, Theresa O'Connell, Sharon J. Laskowski, Catherine Plaisant, Jean Scholtz, Mark Whiting

Abstract

Visual analytics experts realize that one effective way to push the field forward and to develop metrics for measuring the performance of various visual analytics components is to hold an annual competition. The first Visual Analytics Science and Technology (VAST) contest was held in conjunction with the 2006 IEEE Visualization Conference. The competition entailed the identification of possible political shenanigans in the fictitious town of Alderwood. A synthetic data set was made available as well as tasks. We summarize how we prepared and advertised the contest, developed some initial metrics for evaluation, selected winners, and ran an additional live competition at the conference to provide the winners feedback from senior analysts.

Proceedings Title

Proceedings of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Visual Analytics Science and Technology 2006

Conference Dates

October 31-November 2, 2006

Conference Location

Baltimore, MD, US

Conference Title

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Visual Analytics Science and Technology 2006

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

visual analytics, visualization

Citation

Grinstein, G. , O'Connell, T. , Laskowski, S. , Plaisant, C. , Scholtz, J. and Whiting, M. (2006), VAST 2006 Contest - A tale of Alderwood, Proceedings of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Visual Analytics Science and Technology 2006, Baltimore, MD, US, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=50866 (Accessed October 9, 2025)