Data Visualization and Dashboard Design

Online Intelligence Solutions

Data Visualization and Dashboard Design

LIVE WEBINAR 04/04/2013

Jacques WARRENCEOWAO/MARKETING

Today’s Speaker

If you feel like it: #measure

You’re very lucky

You get 2 full training days in…

40 minutes!

DISCLOSURE

I belong to a cult.

Why Care About Visualisation? Analytics Governance

Data-Viz belong here

Why Care About Data Visualization?

You don’t make friends with this:

Why care about data visualization?

Or this:


- Believe it or not, creating efficient graphs is not easy, even with Excel!

- Confusion is the main problem.

- So, clarity then becomes the number one goal!

- Graphs are used to communicate a maximum of relevent information as immediately as possible.


- One major problem with analytics is adoption of its results and recommendations.

- Communicating clearly definitely increase analytics chances of success.


Fundamental Visualization Principles

In Information Visualization : Perception for Design, Colin Ware identifies several pre-cognitives attributes:

Color – Difference

Couleur - Intensity

Position – 2D

Form - Orientation

Form - Length

Form - Thickness

Form - Size

Form - Form

Form - Mark

Form - Enclosure

Movement - Blinking

Coulor – Contextual Perception

text text


The Power of the Human Eye

Getsalt of visual perception (partial)Proximity Similarity

Enclosure and continuity

Linking


The Power of the Human Eye

The power of the line

2000

2010

Sales Profits

Sales Profits

Sales Profits


First Principle

Don’t visualize!!!


Two General Types

Tables & Graphs


Tables for valuesGraphs for trends/Overall comparison

Two General Types


Facilitate understanding

Source : Système CRM

Or at least try not to hinder it!


Central East West South

$0

$200,000

$400,000

$600,000

$800,000

$1,000,000

$1,200,000

$1,400,000

$1,600,000

Ventes en dollars canadiens

Ventes de meubles par région et profits - Juin 2012

($16,312) $48,937

Profit

Should be self-sufficient

Source : Our CRM

TITLE

UNITS

CATEGORYSOURCE

REFERENCE PERIOD

LEGEND

“The Central region had the best sales, while the East region had losses.”

Alternative Title


Optimize attention time

Source : Système CRM

Visualization allows for immediate comparison (length), while color can be used to quickly bring attention.


Basic Visual ElementsDots

Central East South West

$0

$500,000

$1,000,000

$1,500,000

$2,000,000

$2,500,000

$3,000,000

$3,500,000

$4,000,000

$4,500,000

Sales

Bars

January-2009 February-2009 March-2009 April-2009 May-2009 June-2009 July-2009August-2009September-2009

October-2009 November-2009 December-2009 January-2010 February-2010 March-2010 April-2010 May-2010 June-2010 July-2010August-2010September-2010



October-2012 November-2012 December-2012

$0

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Sales

Lines 90%


Amaretto Caffe Latte Caffe Mocha Chamomile Columbian DarjeelingDecaf Espresso ..Decaf Irish Crea

Earl Grey Green TeaLemon

Mint

Regular Espresso

($10,000)

($5,000)

$0

$5,000

$10,000

$15,000

$20,000

$25,000

$30,000

$35,000

$40,000

$45,000

Profit

January-2010 February-2010 March-2010 April-2010 May-2010 June-2010 July-2010August-2010

September-2010October-2010 November-2010 December-2010 January-2011 February-2011 March-2011 April-2011 May-2011 June-2011July-2011

August-2011September-2011


$24,000

$26,000

$28,000

$30,000

$32,000

$34,000

$36,000

$38,000

SalesBasic Visual Elements - Dots


January-2010 February-2010 March-2010April-2010May-2010June-2010July-2010August-2010

September-2010October-2010 November-2010 December-2010 January-2011 February-2011 March-2011April-2011May-2011June-2011July-2011

August-2011September-2011


$24,000

$26,000

$28,000

$30,000

$32,000

$34,000

$36,000

$38,000

Sales

$0 $200 $400 $600 $800 $1,000 $1,200 $1,400

Advertising Costs

-$30K

-$20K

-$10K

$0K

$10K

$20K

$30K

$40K

Profit

Basic Visual Elements - Lines


Amaretto Caffe Latte Caffe Mocha Chamom.. Columbian DarjeelingDecaf EspressoDecaf Irish CreamEarl Grey Green Tea Lemon Mint Regular Espresso

$0

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

$70,000

$80,000

$90,000

$100,000

$110,000

$120,000

$130,000

Sales

Product

$0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000

Ventes en dollars

Columbian

Lemon

Caffe Mocha

Decaf Espresso

Chamomile

Darjeeling

Earl Grey

Decaf Irish Cream

Caffe Latte

Mint

Green Tea

Amaretto

Regular Espresso

Basic Visual Elements - Bars


Colors are semantically charged

Don’t forget color blind people!


Semantic Charges of Colors – Bringing attention


$0

$200,000

$400,000

$600,000

$800,000

$1,000,000

$1,200,000

$1,400,000

$1,600,000


Different Colors


$0

$200,000

$400,000

$600,000

$800,000

$1,000,000

$1,200,000

$1,400,000

$1,600,000


Different Hues


Choosing a Color Palette


A B C

Company Specific

D

Graphical excellence is that which gives to the viewer the greatest number of ideas in the shortest time with the least ink in the smallest space.

Graphical excellence is the well-designed presentation of interesting data”

Edward Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 1983

What is Graphical Excellence?


The famous Data-Ink Ratio

“Above all, show the data” Edward Tufte

Août

Sept

embr

e

Octob

re

Novem

bre

Décem

bre

Janv

ier

Févr

ier

Mars

Avril

Mai0.0%

200.0%

400.0%

600.0%

800.0%

1000.0%

1200.0%

Août

Septe

mbre

Oct

obre

Novem

bre

Déce

mbre

Janvie

r

Févri

er

Mars

Avri

l

Mai

Juin

Juille

t

Août

Septe

mbre

Oct

obre

Novem

bre

Déce

mbre

32.0%33.0%34.0%35.0%36.0%37.0%38.0%39.0%40.0%41.0%42.0%


Avoid Chart Junk


Lower the Lie Factor


The Ducks!


And the infamous infographics…

Fundamental Principles of Design

Faulty, or Inefficient Visualization

Chaises Fauteuils Tables Lampes9000

9200

9400

9600

9800

10000

10200

10400

10600

10800

11000

Chaises Fauteuils Tables Lampes0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10000

11000

Wrong scales


Wrong height/width ratio


12%

16%

22%20

%

15,5%

14,5%

Enough with pie charts!

22%

20%

16%

15,5%

14,5%

12%


12%

16%

22%20

%

15,5%

14,5%

22%

20%

16%

15,5%

14,5%

12%


Enough with pie charts!

Enough with 3-D!!!

Cosmetic (!) Several categories


Solution Examples From a Client

Examples from a client

The 3D effect doesn’t add anything


Visualization was not necessary here




New Visualization Types

Spark Lines

In Excel 2010


Heat Maps


Tree Maps


Animated bubbles

Introduced by Pr. Hans Rosling :

gapminder.org

Example : http://bit.ly/WZAxqL

New Visualization Types – Animated Bubbles

http://bit.ly/WZAxqL

http://bit.ly/WZAxqL

Bullet Graphs

Current Value

Target

Qualitative Thresholds



Bullet Graphs & Sparklines

Working horizontally

Dashboarding

In This Part

What is a dashboard?

Dashboard Design Project Main StepsDashboard Design Fundamental Principles

You should kow…

Dashboard Design:

- Design 30%

- Project Management 70%

What you see really is just the tip of the iceberg

You should kow…

“A visual display of the most important information needed to achieve one or more objectives which fits entirely on a single computer screen so it can be monitored at a glance”

Stephen Few


So, a dashboard is a communication tool!

It is NOT an analytical tool

Strategic View

Operational View


The Pilot Metaphor


Dashboard Design & Production Steps

Preliminary Decisions

- Which metrics should be exposed?- What is the dashboard refresh frequency?

- Who is the audience?

- What platform to use (HighTech, Low Tech) ?

Project Stages- Writing functional specifications- Writing technical specifications- Making the wireframe

- Making the design

- Making the prototype

- Making the dashboard with real data


Writing specifications

- Never a very “sexy” stage

- Essential because of complexity of projects- Making modifications later than sooner always costs more money!


Writing the specifications


High Tech or Low Tech ?

Important factors to consider:- Time- Technical complexity- Budget


Writing the specifications

Making the wireframe

Putting the pieces together


Making the design

Get as close as possible to the final look & feel


Making the prototype

Excel is very good for prototypingCAVEAT:The chosen platform may have its own design limitations.


Making the dashboard with real data


You have to “sell” your project, and also insist on how important decisions are at each stage.

Go through the approval cycle


Breaking in period and training


First, some clarification

- You are limited by the platform you chose- Distribution has a strong impact on design

Elementary Principles of Dashboard Design

Fits entirely on a single screen/view

- We must see everything within the same screen

- Avoid creating dashboards that require scrolling


Organizing the area – Reading directions


Organizing the area – Separating the zones


Choosing Visualization – What & HowNO! Graphs Sparklines

Bullet Graphs

32%

Numbers!


Contextualising Results

Fundamental element which bears meaningDeterminng the comparison periods



Contextualising Results

Should you leave room for comments?


Neglecting to give context

Common Design Mistakes

Nord Sud Est Ouest - $

50,000.00 $

100,000.00 $

150,000.00 $

200,000.00 $

250,000.00 $

300,000.00 $

350,000.00 $

Nord Sud Est Ouest - $

50,000.00 $

100,000.00 $

150,000.00 $

200,000.00 $

250,000.00 $

300,000.00 $

350,000.00 $

Choosing the wrong kind of visualization


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 80 $

20,000 $

40,000 $

60,000 $

80,000 $

100,000 $

120,000 $

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Ventes Budget

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

-15.0%

-10.0%

-5.0%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

Ventes Budget

Using a non-optimized visualization


0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $

100,000 $120,000 $140,000 $160,000 $180,000 $

Sales

0 $

40,000 $

80,000 $

120,000 $

160,000 $

Costs

Profits

1

2

3

4

5

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8

0 $ 50,000 $ 100,000 $ 150,000 $ 200,000 $

Projections

Introducing useless variety


Not showing everything on the same view


Cluttering graphs and the dashboard with useless decoration


Designing graphs and dashboards that are plain.. ugly!


Using off-putting colors !


Examples of “trendy” design




Since I must conclude…

- Communicating efficiently is very hard- Design must not take the place of information.- There can be 10 solutions to the same design problem; always choose data first.

If the statistics are boring, then you’ve got the wrong numbers.

E. Tufte

Visualization is not about putting lipstick on a pig

Online Intelligence Solutions

www.waomarketing.com

[email protected]

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Thank you!

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Data Visualization and Dashboard Design