Visualisation makes data real for the end user

According to Paul Butler, an intern in Facebook’s Data Infrastructure Engineering team, data visualisation is like photography. Instead of starting with a blank canvas, you manipulate the lens used to present the data from a certain angle. Facebook captures data that describes the social graph of 500 million people. Paul took a sample of 10 million pairs of friends and found a way to plot the locality of friendships. The results are staggering; they not only reflect where people live relative to their friends but also offer unprecedented insight into how geography and political borders impact social interaction; the black hole of North Korea being a case in point. Apart from anything, it’s an aesthetically pleasing image – see the link at the bottom of the page.

This example demonstrates the power of visualisation in making analytics real; making it relevant, come alive and allowing the user to derive insight, but how can these principles be applied in a business environment?

Effective visualisation as the key to winning over stakeholders, identifying business problems and opportunities

Proctor & Gamble are an excellent example of how a business can be transformed by data visualisation. P&G are dedicated to producing common and well-understood data displays, resulting in a deep seated acceptance of MI amongst decision-makers. Consequently, key stakeholders can spend that much more time discussing ways to address problems and opportunities, rather than whose data is correct, what data should really be used and how it should best be displayed. Supporting this are some key cultural and environmental influences; for example, the same charts and visuals are used across the globe to build familiarity and draw users together, employees have access to a “Decision Cockpit” online portal where they can query data in a controlled environment (i.e. minimising errors, rework, duplication), and management meetings are often held in “Business Spheres” where MI is projected on surrounding walls.

The crucial balance between form and function

P&G exemplify that commonality is as important as creativity; i.e. that form should be balanced by function. A chap called Vitaly Friedman wrote a book on data visualisation and infographics in 2008; he sums up what it’s all about quite nicely:

“The main goal of data visualization is to communicate information clearly and effectively through graphical means. It doesn’t mean that data visualization needs to look boring to be functional or extremely sophisticated to look beautiful. To convey ideas effectively, both aesthetic form and functionality need to go hand in hand, providing insights into a rather sparse and complex data set by communicating its key aspects in a more intuitive way. Yet designers often fail to achieve a balance between form and function, creating gorgeous data visualizations which fail to serve their main purpose — to communicate information”.

Taking a leap of faith

And it’s this point around the balance between form and function that is critical. There is a tendency to get scared of data. The retail world is characterised by a series of struggles; high street versus online, mobile versus physical payment, science versus intuition. For many retailers, the idea of abandoning years of accumulated knowledge, and handing over the helm to a dataset and a bunch of technical analysts, is truly threatening. To win over these traditionalists, data needs to be presented in such a way that its value is crystal clear.

In a world of eroding margins, increasing costs, and regulatory scrutiny, it’s so important to communicate tangible benefits, particularly to an audience of skeptics. Whether it’s a team of data analysts or the latest Financial Market Abuse surveillance software, investments need to be justified across industries, products and services. Data is increasingly used by organisations to gain a competitive edge and consequently, the pressure to take the leap of faith and transform data into opportunity has never been greater.

Data visualisation as a catalyst to sign off

If used correctly, visualisation can be a powerful tool in making data come alive for business users. Tangible benefits should jump out above and beyond artistic value and emphasis should be placed on gaining buy in through clear and consistent design. Opportunities to gain an edge in difficult markets are few and far between, but visualisation can be the deal breaker in convincing stakeholders to invest.

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My next blog post will continue to explore how data visualisation can help your business.