=Overload !!

1Author: Brian O Mahony

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Preamble

Reporting Data and generating Information has become a complex process. Business data, Research datais essentially numerical in content , and highly multi-dimensional. Interpretation of Information is intellectuallydemanding requiring high concentration and forensics skills. Mental agility and focus of concentration makesfor huge demands on personal time to digest, absorb, decode and understand what is going on. McKinsey, theInternational Consulting firm refer to the dark-side of big data as Overload and Attention fragmentation.

The root of the problem is that our brain is best designed to focus on one task at a time. When we switch between tasks, especially complex ones, we become startlingly less efficient: in a recent study, for example, participants who completed tasks in parallel took up to 30 percent longer and made twice as many errors as those who completed the same tasks in sequence. The delay comes from the fact that our brains can’t successfully tell us to perform two actions concurrently. Digesting data andreaching for answers places enormous mental strains on our brains ability to reason and process events surrounding their business or research.

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The data fog is thickening at a time when companies are trying to squeeze ever more out of their workers. A survey in America by Spherion Staffing discovered that 53% of workers had been compelled to take on extra tasks since the recession started. This dismal trend may well continue—many companies remain reluctant to hire new people even as business picks up. So there will be little respite from the dense data smog, which some researchers fear may be poisonous.

Information Overload can lead to “information anxiety,” which is the gap between the information we understand and the information that we think that we must understand.

Cognitive brain health depends not on how much information a person takes in but rather how deep the person is reinterpreting and creating new meaning from information. This pattern helps explain why access to more information is not, on its own, making us smarter. More likely, quite the opposite is true. Exposure to large volumes of information steals and freezes your brainpower.

“To build a healthy brain, you must stop overloading your brain with vast amounts of information. What you need to dedicate yourself to is building a strategic brain.’

Sandra Bond Chapman Ph.D Center of Brain Health

‘Big data’s rise is outstripping our ability to perform analysis andreach conclusions fast enough.’

Chris Taylor .......Harvard Business Review

Trends

Patterns

Consequences

We Relate data to Context..

We Extract data for Relevancy and Value...

We Compare changes that are Important...

We Grasp factors for Significance

In a blink of an eye our brain begins to absorb the data in all itsfacets. It begins to process and reason what the data contains.It operates instantly to engage primary functions that try and Interpret, Analyse, Decipher and Decode data into Informationin nano-seconds.

Information is buried in numerical values, indices, and statistics.metrics, and Key Performance Indicators require reasoning that takes effort , and consumes time.

The things we look for in analysis is the numerical values in the datatable or charts. The way the data values alters across a range of factorsthat reflect the business or area of research. Our brain seeks to reviewand understand data and how it shows change in growth, whether itshows declines.

In reporting data on business or operational matters, numerous attributes crowd our ability to understand trends and patterns

Growth

Decline

Static

Quantitative Reporting

Data Volumes

Complexity

SignificanceRep

ortin

g C

halle

nges

Informative

Usefulness

Critical

Insightful

Information Is Valuable

Positioning

Ranking

Old Data

New Data

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Data Overload

The sheer amount of Time involved byProfessionals, decoding and Deciphering data..is hostage to scale and Complexity.

Incomplete Information on the nuances of the businessissues, Is lost in Translation due to inadequate presentation.

Key connections are missed within the informationbase leading to missed opportunities... Or

expensive decisions.

Human issues arise and ability to deal with data that Is late,no longer relevant , or very un-structured In format, as well as content…leads to judgment errors and financial or time sensitive consequences.

Reports are Data- intensive, containingsizable levels of detail..that simplyTakes a lot of time.

Faster and Better comprehension of the business Issues

More Connection to Cause & Effect problems

Frees Up Significant Executive Time

Delivers Deeper Understanding between the reporting processand the business itself.

Presentation Tools to support :

Data Relevancy - Data Context

- Volume of Data

– Complexity of Data

- Presentation of Data

Making sense of Data is getting Harder, and taking up More Time

New types of tools are needed to supportand transform the way data and informationIs presented and communicated.

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Transforming Information into Geometrical Visual Constructsmakes multi layered data more insightful and powerful tools tocommunicate with. Geometric Information creates multi dimensionalfocal points for transforming numerical content into Visual context.

Information Geometry

Seeing more Information

Better Perspectives

Faster Retention of Business Cycles

Patterns Detected

We design reporting into Meaningful and insightful decisionmaking tools. Our use of spatial graphics retains all the integrityof the business issues, but displays in a more Cognitive and Intuitive manner.

Geometric Visual constructs convey clarity and power. SpatiallyDesign concepts arrange and display information that eases the way numerical data, metrics, performance indicators, arestructured. Moving from mere reporting tools to decision supportand presentation aids.

Transforming the way Information is Harnessed,Presented, and Understood.

Statistical DataClinical Data.Financial Data.Actuarial Data.Environmental DataEconomic Data

It’s About Showing What Matters,its about making Information

Visibly RelevantInformation Geometry

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Shaping ways.....to See Things better

Simply... Making Information Visibly Relevant.

Information Geometry Encoding Numerical Data into Geometric Constructs

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