Acknowledgements

This thesis would not be possible without the support of many people.

First, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisors, Dianne Cook, Emi Tanaka, Susan VanderPlas, and Klaus Ackermann. Their exceptional guidance and insights into statistical graphics and computer vision models during my PhD have been invaluable. I am profoundly inspired by their enthusiasm, vision, and dynamic approach to our work.

I am also grateful to my PhD cohort, including, but not limited to, Ze-Yu Zhong, Cynthia Huang, Jayani Lakshika, Janith Wanniarachchi, Harriet Mason, Sherry Zhang, and Mitchell O’Hara-Wild, for their insightful conversations on software development and methodology that greatly influenced this thesis. I also sincerely thank Catherine Forbes, Kate Saunders, and Michael Lydeamore, whose expert suggestions as panel members proved invaluable during the challenging moments of my PhD journey.

Last but not least, I would like to thank my family for their support.