Designing for Interpretation Uncertainty: Architecture and Principles for Topological Learning Analytics Dashboards

Abstract

Topological Data Analysis (TDA) offers novel methods for understanding temporal dynamics in complex systems, yet its application in information systems design faces a fundamental challenge: how should systems present analytical outputs when interpretation frameworks are still developing? This paper reports on the development of TopoLA, a dashboard system applying Zigzag Persistent Homology to learning management system data, and proposes three early design principles for interpretation support in emerging analytics: (1) separation of objective measurement from contextual interpretation, (2) graduated disclosure from metrics through patterns to reflective prompts, and (3) explicit acknowledgment of methodological uncertainty. The system implements a modular three-stage pipeline--feature extraction, topological computation, and interpretation support--enabling extension to additional analytical methods. This work contributes to information systems research by articulating preliminary design knowledge for systems that must communicate analytical insights from methods lacking established interpretation norms--a challenge increasingly common as novel computational techniques enter applied domains.