This study clarifies the effects of network complexity and network map transformation on the ability of network managers to use graphic network displays. Maps of Japan and the United States with outlines of their respective prefectures or states were displayed on a CRT. Each map displayed a fictitious network of nodes and their interconnections. These networks were two-level hierarchical and non-meshed, meaning that each low-level node was connected to a single high-level node, but not all high-level nodes were linked together. The subjects, task was to identify a path between two low-level nodes. In each trial, two low-level nodes were highlighted, and the subject attempted to find the shortest path between these nodes. This was done by using a mouse to select intermediate nodes. Completing a path required a minimum of 4 node traversals. Three variables were manipulated. First, the number of nodes was defined as the total number of low-level nodes in a network (70, 150, or 200). The second variable was the level of transformation. Very densely populated areas of the maps were systematically transformed to reduce congestion. There were three levels of transformation. The final variable was the country map used, that is, the map of Japan and the map of the United States. Several behavioral measures were used. The most informativ. appeared to be the time required to complete a path (the response time), and how often subjects returned to previous portions of a path (back-ups). For both of these measures, the data pattern was essentially the same. Increasing the number of nodes hurts performance. This was particularly pronounced when the map of Japan was tested. However, as the level of transformation increased, this effect was substantially reduced or completely eliminated. The results are discussed in terms of engineering rules and guidelines for designing graphical network representations.

Telecommunications management activities have mostly been supported by operators; however, machines are gradually playing more important roles in the management arena by utilizing computing technology. Additionally, management systems can now be networked by using standard interface specifications. The study of human and machine integration is thus essential for achieving the sophisticated management objectives of telecommunications. This paper proposes the principles for a telecommunications management integration network (TMIN), which integrates human and machine management networks, and proposes a source text description method for transferring management communication knowledge from human to machine. First, reference models are proposed for the management process and management communication. These models cover network management activities of both humans and machines. Second, the contents of the source text are clarified. Source text presents human management knowledge in a form suitable for machine-machine communication. Third, an efficient source text description method is proposed that reduces redundancy and proliferation. Finally, a means of harmonizing management information definitions with TMIN is suggested to facilitate human-machine cooperation.

This paper proposes a multi-fisheye distortion method which can show a large-scale telecommunication network in a single window on the display of a workstation or personal computer. This distortion method has three advantages over the conventional single-fisheye distortion method. First, the focus area is magnified smoothly by the fisheye distortion method, and the peripheral area coordinates are calculated linearly to avoid unnecessary distortion. Second, multiple focus areas are magnified smoothly by using an average of the coordinates calculated for the individual focuses. Third, the scale of unnecessary areas is reduced to provide sufficient space for magnification. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated by applying to the display of large-scale networks. The effect of the resulting network map distortion on the user is tested by a subjective evaluation experiment.

This paper proposes the Snow Crystal method, which aims to present the hierarchies of a large-scale telecommunication network on one screen. This will improve the user interface of a network operation system for network operations and management. With the proposed presentation method, locations of nodes are automatically set based on the number of hierarchy levels and the number of nodes. The nodes in the same hierarchy level are located on the same circle at even intervals. The center of the circle that corresponds to the top hierarchy level is set at the center of the screen. The radius of the circle is determined by the number of nodes. The centers of circles that correspond to the second hierarchy levels belonging to the nodes of the top hierarchy level, are located on a larger circle with the same center point as the top level circle at even intervals. The centers of circles that correspond to the third hierarchy levels are located at even intervals on a circle with the same center point as the second level circle, which the third levels belong to. The nodes of the subsequent levels are located in the same way. The proposed presentation method is successfully applied to a large-scale telecommunication network. Moreover, the results of an operating experiment with the proposed method show its effectiveness for presenting hierarchies of large-scale telecommunication networks.