What is Timeline

Time-based visuals are used to depict time-based events, processes, procedures, and future projections, among others. These come in 2D, 3D, and 4D types, and they may be static or dynamic, non-interactive, or interactive. A simple process or procedure may be expressed visually as a timeline, a flowchart, a stacked diagram, a node-link game tree, a workflow diagram, dedicated-type sequence diagrams, or some other sequence-based visual. With the proliferation of more complex time-based sequences—with multiple paths, multiple actors, decision junctures, conditionals, and other forms of dimensionality, and with multimodal expressions and interactive digital interfaces, with processes as descriptions, theorized steps, directional procedures, projections, and other types—the visual depictions of processes and procedures have become much more complex and layered. This work describes some efforts to optimize these visual expressions through proper design, development, testing, and revision.