Automating the presentation of information

The problem of creating effective computer displays of data contained in large information systems is addressed. The authors describe SAGE, an intelligent system which assumes presentation responsibilities for other systems by automatically creating graphical displays which express the results they generate. They describe SAGE's architecture and the methods by which it creates presentations. Implementing SAGE required identifying and representing a larger set of task and data characteristics than had been explored previously. The authors also describe several prototypical decision support and management systems which use SAGE in different ways to support the presentation needs of end users and system developers.>