Drawing Conclusions: Supporting Decision Making through Collaborative Graphic Annotations

Although the application of sketch-based chart annotation is not pervasive in management, the use of sketchmarks can provide numerous benefits to managerial discussions. The collaborative use of chart annotations can support management teams in their decision making based on quantitative charts by visually eliciting and capturing interpretation processes, clarifying basic assumptions, stimulating different perspectives, and extrapolating trends into the future. Sketch-based annotations combine the simplicity and immediacy of drawing with the clarity and richness of charting. In this paper, we provide the rationale for this under-researched visual management and communication practice, illustrate it through examples, and – as our main contribution – provide a first overview classification of the different sketchmarks that management groups can use in their discussion of quantitative charts (for such contexts as strategy or project reviews). In the end of the paper we briefly describe our future research in this area and highlight implications for management.