Designing usable visual languages: the case of immune system studies

In many fields of science, as well as in real life, visual expressions are used to communicate data, and to perform or document activities. Reproducing such notations in a computerized environment makes possible the development of interactive systems, through which users can easily perform their activities. In this paper we describe how the combination of two methodologies-CVE (Cooperative Visual Environment), and SUE (Systematic Usability Evaluation)-has allowed us to design a usable visual language to support immunologists in accomplishing their tasks. The paper reports on the different design and evaluation steps followed in the evolution from the user notation to the usable visual language.