The Pastwatch: On the usability of provenance data in relational databases

Omar AlOmeir, Eugenie Yujing Lai, Mostafa Milani, Rachel Pottinger

Abstract: Provenance information can be large and overwhelming to users. We present a set of criteria that any provenance exploration tool must have and introduce Pastwatch, a provenance exploration system that adheres to those criteria. We also address the issues associated with provenance of aggregation queries, including the creation of a summarization method that makes provenance of aggregation queries manageable for users. Finally, we conduct a quantitative user study to show statistically significant results that Pastwatch makes provenance information more efficient and easier to use than standard approaches.