Patent ID: 7242403

Claim:
A method of providing a graphical representation of the relationship between a plurality of related variables, the method comprising: displaying on a display device of a computer system a plurality of axes, including a first axis, a second axis and a third axis, each of the axes representing a numerical scale; on the display device, displaying a first grip indicating on the first axis the value of a first variable, a second grip indicating on the second axis the value of a second variable, and a third grip indicating on the third axis the value of a third variable, wherein the grips are oriented at vertices of a triangle, and wherein each grip can be selectively locked to indicate that the value of a variable indicated by the locked grip is fixed such that the value remains constant until the locked grit) is unlocked; receiving fixed variable input from a user locking only one of the first, second and third grips such that the value of the variable indicated by the locked grip is fixed such that the value remains constant until the locked grip is unlocked; receiving variable adjustment input from the user comprising moving a chosen one of the unlocked grips from a first position on its corresponding axis to a second position on its corresponding axis; using a value indicated by the chosen unlocked grip at the second, position on its corresponding axis as the changed value of its corresponding chosen variable to calculate a new value of a remaining variable; displaying on the display device the remaining grip at a new position on its corresponding axis such that the remaining grip indicates the new value of the remaining variable; receiving variable adjustment input from the user comprising moving the chosen unlocked grip from the second position on its corresponding axis to a third position on its corresponding axis; using a value indicated by the chosen unlocked grip at the third position on its corresponding axis as the changed value of its corresponding chosen variable to calculate a further new value of the remaining variable; and displaying on the display device the remaining grip at a new position on its corresponding axis such that the remaining grip indicates the further new value of the remaining variable.