book

Communicating with Data

by Carl Allchin

October 2021

Beginner to intermediate

338 pages

8h 47m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Why I Wrote This BookWho Is This Book For?How the Book Is OrganizedConventions Used in This BookO’Reilly Online LearningHow to Contact UsAcknowledgments
What Is Communication?The Communication ProcessGetting Through to Your Audience: Context and NoiseDon’t Forget About MemoryWhy Visualize Data?Pre-Attentive Attributes in ActionUnique ConsiderationsSummary
What Is Data?Key Features of DataRows and ColumnsData TypesHow Is Data Created?Where Is Data Created?Should You Trust Your Data?Data as a ResourceFilesDatabases, Data Servers, and LakesApplication Programming InterfacesData Security and EthicsEasy or Hard? The “Right” Data StructureThe Shape of DataCleaning DataThe “Right” DataRequirement GatheringUse of the DataSummary
TablesHow to Read TablesHow to Optimize TablesWhen You Might Not Use TablesBar ChartsHow to Read Bar ChartsHow to Optimize Bar ChartsWhen You Might Not Want to Use Bar ChartsLine ChartsHow to Read Line ChartsHow to Optimize Line ChartsWhen You Might Not Use Line ChartsSummary
Chart Types: ScatterplotsHow to Read ScatterplotsHow to Optimize ScatterplotsWhen to Avoid ScatterplotsChart Types: MapsHow to Read MapsHow to Optimize MapsWhen to Avoid MapsChart Types: Part-to-WholeHow to Read Part-to-Whole ChartsWhen to Use Part-to-Whole ChartsWhen to Avoid Part-to-Whole ChartsSummary
ColorTypes of Color PalettesChoosing the “Right” ColorAvoiding Unnecessary Use of Color: Double EncodingSize and ShapeThemed ChartsSize and Shape ChallengesMultiple AxesReference Lines/BandsReference LinesReference BandsTotals/SummariesTotals in TablesTotals in ChartsSummary
TitlesMain TitleSubtitles, Standfirsts, and Chart TitlesText and AnnotationsAnnotationsText BoxesText FormattingContextual NumbersLegendsShape LegendsColor LegendsSize LegendsIconography and Visual CuesThematic IconographyAudience GuidanceBackground and PositioningThe Z PatternWhitespaceInteractivityTooltipsInteractionsSummary
Explanatory CommunicationsGathering RequirementsUpdating Data in Explanatory ViewsSo What?Exploratory CommunicationsGathering RequirementsFlexibility and FlowMethods: DashboardsMonitoring ConditionsFacilitating UnderstandingMethods: InfographicsMethods: Slide PresentationsMethods: Notes and EmailsSummary

Tables Versus Pretty PicturesData CultureData LiteracyImproving the Visualization MixStatic Versus InteractiveLet’s Talk About PowerPointMore Than Just PowerPointInteractive User ExperienceCentralized Versus Decentralized Data TeamsThe Data TeamData SourcesReportingPooling Data ExpertiseSelf-ServiceLive Versus Extracted DataLive DataExtracted Data SetsStandardization Versus InnovationImportance of StandardizationImportance of InnovationReporting Versus AnalyticsReporting: Mass ProductionAnalytics: Flexibility but UncertaintyFinding the “Perfect” BalanceSummary
The Executive TeamFinanceHuman ResourcesOperationsMarketingSalesInformation TechnologySummary
Step 1: Get InspiredStep 2: PracticeStep 3: Keep Reading