GeneaQuilts: A System for Exploring Large Genealogies

GeneaQuilts is a new visualization technique for representing large genealogies of up to several thousand individuals. Thevisualization takes the form of a diagonally-filled matrix, where rows are individuals and columns are nuclear families. After identifyingthe major tasks performed in genealogical research and the limits of current software, we present an interactive genealogy explorationsystem based on GeneaQuilts. The system includes an overview, a timeline, search and filtering components, and a new interactiontechnique called Bring & Slide that allows fluid navigation in very large genealogies. We report on preliminary feedback from domain experts and show how our system supports a number of their tasks.