AlexanderSkorka-June2016

SuccessfullyestablishstorytellinginyourdailydashboardbusinessDashboardsareanintegralpartoftoday'smarketresearch.Atthesametime,storytellingplaysanimportantrolewhenpresentingmarketresearchresults,asfiguresalonedonotprovideasufficientbasisforeffectivedecisions.Theyhardlyeverrevealrelevantfindings,astheyareoftentooabstractanddon'tappearincontext.Moreandmorestakeholderswithinacompanywanttohaveactionableinformationtheycanworkwith.Ifanalyticalandmarketingskillsarelacking,aneasy-to-understandanddescriptivepresentationofcomplexsituationsisamust.Targetedcommunicationofactionableinformationiscrucialhere.Consequently,professionalstorytellingincombinationwithengagingvisualizationisbecomingmoreandmoreimportantinourdailydashboardactivities.Weashumansarenaturallycuriouswhenitcomestostories.Agoodstoryconveysknowledgeandhelpsustounderstandnotonlythe“what”,butalsothe“why”.Interestingstoriescangoviralandwillbecarriedonto“wow”others.Thisishowcommunicationcreatesnewideasandperspectives.Adashboardthatvisualizesfigures,butdoesn'ttellastory,isinformative.Onlyagoodstorywillmaketheuserthink,startcommunicationwithothersandultimatelylaythebaseforinformedconclusionsanddecisions.Whatmakesagoodstory?1.Agoodstoryisallabouttheinterestofthereader(=user)andnotthestoryteller(=creatorofthedashboard).Youneedtoengagethereader.Thestoryneedstomakesenseforthem.Noteverydashboarduserneedstheentireinformationineverydetailfromeachperspective.Somaybeyouneedtotelldifferentstoriesaboutthesametopic,dependingonyourtargetgroup,theirpreferencesandinterests.2.Agoodstorymustfeatureatleastoneherothereadercanrelateto.SothestoryneedstocontainKPIsthatareimportanttotherespectivedashboarduser–importantinthesensethatthereadercaninfluencetheseKPIsandisassessedwithrespecttopositiveand

negativechanges.Everyheroneedsagoal.That'swhyyoualwaysalsoneedtothinkaboutchallenging,yetreachableobjectives.3.Agoodstoryinspiresthereadertothinkahead.Whileastorycanbecomplex,itshouldneverbecomplicated,becauseitneedstoshowthereaderwhatishappeningaswellashowtheparticularsituationdeveloped.Youalwaysneedtoensurethatyourdashboardcontainscause-effectrelations.Theseinterdependenciesprovidefoodforthoughtandcreateideasfornecessarychanges.4.And:Evennegativestoriescanbeproductive.HowcanItellastorywithmydashboard?1.(Interactive)onlinepresentationsThemostwidelyusedformoftellingstorieswithdashboardsisasonlinepresentations.Differentdataperspectivesareshowninoneslideshow.Dependingonthesystemthatyouuse,theindividualperspectivesarepresentedasslidesorsavedasbookmarks.Theuseristhentakenfrompagetopageorbookmarktobookmarkandfollowsagiventheme.Sometimesitisdifficulttotellthewholestory.Thetopicmightbetooextensiveortheamountofinformationrequiredbytheindividualstakeholdersvariestoowidely.Inthesecasesyouneedinteractiveshortstories.Theactualstoryisthebasicframeworkandshouldbereadfrombeginningtoend.Additionally,theuser(reader)isprovidedwiththepossibilitytodiscoverfurtherinformationanddetailsinteractively.However,beawareofanalyticalfreedomandtheamountofdetailyouoffer.Toomuchfreedommightoverwhelmthereaderandleadtoincorrectconclusionsduetoawrongapplicationofanalyticaloptions.Toofewoptions,ontheotherhand,leavecausalgapsandquestionsunanswered.Thisfrustratestheuserandimpactstheiracceptanceofyourdashboard.Agoodstoryisonlyfullytoldwhenreadersnolongeraskthemselves,“sowhatnow?”.2.Comments/qualitativecontextEventhebestinteractiveonlinepresentationhasaweakpoint.Figuresaloneareoftennotsufficienttotakeaninformeddecision.ManyKPIsappearinnewlightwhentheyareembeddedincontext.Itisthereforeimportanttoaddqualitativedatatoyourdashboard.Dependingonthesizeofyourdashboard,thiscanbedonebyanindividual,variousdepartmentsorexternalconsultants.Legends,comments,possibleconclusionsandrecommendationsforadditionalmeasureshelpthereadertounderstandandtakeaction.Theresultiscommunicationthatcontainsnotonlyfactsandfigures,butalsoexpertknowledgeandopinions.

3.InfographicsMakeyourreaderfeelthefacts,figuresandinformationyouareproviding,notonlyreadandseethem.Tablesandgraphsareabstractandshowfiguresoftenwithoutcontext.Infographics,however,ensureeasyandquickunderstandingofthedataprovided.Theyclearlyshowthecommonthemeandmakeusseerelevantrelationsbetweencauseandeffect.

Figure1:Fromreadinganabstractgraph(brain)tofeelingastraightforwardinfographic(instinct)

Figure2:Thebigpictureandcause-effectrelationsataglance

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SummaryStorytellingdonerightcanbeeasilyintegratedintoyourdailydashboardactivities.Presentationswillalwaysbeanintegralpartofcommunication.Theamountandcomplexityofinformationaswellasthenumberofupdatesrequiredtoday,however,callforamoredigitalandinteractiveapproach.Supportingtheuser,guidingthemanddirectlyansweringtheirquestionsatanypointintime–thisisthegoalofgooddashboard-basedstorytelling.Abouttheauthor

AlexanderspentmorethanthreeyearsworkingasheadoftechnicaloperationsatTNSGermanymanagingtheentireproductionchainfromdatacollectingtoinformationdelivery.Priortothat,heservedasamemberofthemanagementboardatKantarHealthheadingtheoperationalunitsaswellasmarketresearchteams.Hestartedhisprofessionallifeasamanagingdirectorofaserviceandtrainingproviderforvisualcommunication,datavisualization,andpresentationdesign.Assuch,heishighlyexperiencedinthemarketresearchindustryandanexpertininformationvisualizationanddelivery.InhisroleasChiefEvangelistofDapresyGrouphehelpscustomerstomakethemostoutofDapresy’sproductsbybothcreatingsolutionsbasedontheDapresyproductportfolioandconsultingcustomersonhowtotransformdataintoimpactandmaximizeoutcomes.