Observed strategies in the freehand drawing of complex hierarchical diagrams

Chunk decomposition and assembly strategies have been found in the drawing of complex hierarchical diagrams (spe- cifically AVOW diagrams). Analysis of 40 diagrams pro- duced by five participants provided evidence for the strategies based on the duration of pauses between drawn elements. The strategies were initially discovered using a new visualiza- tion technique developed to allow the detailed examination of the sequential order of diagram drawing in conjunction with information about the durations of pauses associated with drawn elements