Visual Intelligence: Microsoft Tools and Techniques for Visualizing Data

Visual Intelligence: Microsoft Tools and Techniques for Visualizing Data

by Mark Stacey, Joe Salvatore, Adam Jorgensen
Released April 2013
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781118388037

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Book description

Go beyond design concepts and learn to build state-of-the-art visualizations

The visualization experts at Microsoft's Pragmatic Works have created a full-color, step-by-step guide to building specific types of visualizations. The book thoroughly covers the Microsoft toolset for data analysis and visualization, including Excel, and explores best practices for choosing a data visualization design, selecting tools from the Microsoft stack, and building a dynamic data visualization from start to finish. You'll examine different types of visualizations, their strengths and weaknesses, and when to use each one.

  • Data visualization tools unlock the stories within the data, enabling you to present it in a way that is useful for making business decisions

  • This full-color guide introduces data visualization design concepts, then explains the various Microsoft tools used to store and display data

  • Features a detailed discussion of various classes of visualizations, their uses, and the appropriate tools for each

  • Includes practical implementations of various visualizations and best practices for using them

  • Covers out-of-the-box Microsoft tools, custom-developed illustrations and implementations, and code examples

Visual Intelligence: Microsoft Tools and Techniques for Visualizing Data arms you with best practices and the knowledge to choose and build dynamic data visualizations.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Introduction
    1. Introduction
    2. Overview of the Book and Technology
    3. How This Book Is Organized
    4. Who Should Read This Book
    5. Industry and Technology Trends
    6. Tools You Need
    7. What's on the Website
  3. Part I: Introduction to Data Visualization
    1. Chapter 1: Fundamentals of Visualization
      1. Data Visualization versus Artistic Visualization
      2. The Place of Infographics
      3. Using 3D Effectively
      4. Summary
    2. Chapter 2: Designing a Visualization
      1. Goals of Visualization
      2. Human Perceptual Abilities
      3. Strategic, Tactical, and Operational Views
      4. Glance and Go versus Data Exploration
      5. Using Color in Visualizations
      6. Use of Perspective and Shape
      7. Summary
  4. Part II: Microsoft's Toolset for Visualizing Data
    1. Chapter 3: The Microsoft Toolset
      1. A Brief History
      2. Database Tools
      3. The Place of Each Front-End Tool
      4. Installing the Sample Databases
      5. Summary
    2. Chapter 4: Building Data Sets to Support Visualization
      1. What Data Sets Are
      2. Common Data Set Elements
      3. Types of Data Sets and Sources
      4. Creating Data Sets for Visualization
      5. Getting Started
      6. Your First Data Set
      7. Summary
    3. Chapter 5: Excel and PowerPivot
      1. What are Excel and PowerPivot?
      2. Creating Your First PowerPivot Model
      3. What Does Excel Do for Me?
      4. Summary
    4. Chapter 6: Power View
      1. What Is Power View?
      2. Creating a Power View Report
      3. Enhancing Data Models for Power View
      4. Sharing Power View Reports
      5. Installing the Power View Samples
      6. Summary
    5. Chapter 7: PerformancePoint
      1. Tabular versus Multidimensional Sources
      2. Requirements for Running PerformancePoint
      3. Authentication Issues when Using Secure Store Service
      4. KPIs, Scorecards, Filters, Reports, and Dashboards
      5. Combining Visualizations in PerformancePoint
      6. Creating Web Part Pages in SharePoint
      7. Installing the PerformancePoint Samples
      8. Summary
    6. Chapter 8: Reporting Services
      1. Native versus Integrated Mode
      2. Shared and Embedded Data Sources
      3. Authentication: A Better Solution
      4. Expressions in Reporting Services
      5. Business Intelligence Development Studio and Visual Studio versus Report Builder
      6. Installing the Reporting Services Samples
      7. Summary
    7. Chapter 9: Custom Code
      1. Silverlight, WPF, XAML, and HTML5
      2. The Future of Silverlight
      3. Accessing Data from HTML5
      4. Installing the HTML5 samples
      5. A Web Service Sample in C#
      6. Summary
  5. Part III: Visual Analytics in Practice
    1. Chapter 10: Scorecards and Indicators
      1. A Quick Understanding: Glance and Go
      2. Tool Choices, with Examples
      3. Implementation Examples
      4. Summary
    2. Chapter 11: Timelines
      1. Types of Temporal Analysis Visualization
      2. Tool Choices, with Examples
      3. Implementation Examples
      4. Summary
    3. Chapter 12: Comparison Visuals
      1. Overview of Point-in-Time Comparisons
      2. Explaining Perspective and Perceiving Comparisons
      3. Tool Choices, with Examples
      4. Implementation Examples
      5. Summary
    4. Chapter 13: Slice and Dice: Ad Hoc Analytics
      1. Explanation of Terms
      2. Tool Choices with Examples
      3. Implementation Examples
      4. Summary
    5. Chapter 14: Relationship Analysis
      1. Visualizing Relationships: Nodes, Trees, and Leaves
      2. Tool Choices
      3. Implementation Examples
      4. Summary
    6. Chapter 15: Embedded Visualizations
      1. Tabular Data: Adding Visual Acuity
      2. Tool Choices with Examples
      3. Implementation Examples
      4. Summary
    7. Chapter 16: Other Visualizations
      1. Traditional Infographics
      2. Periodic Tables
      3. Swim Lanes
      4. Transportation Maps
      5. Mind Maps
      6. Venn Diagram
      7. CAD Drawings
      8. 3D Modeling
      9. Funnels
      10. Flow Diagrams
      11. Geographic Information System Maps
      12. Heatmaps
      13. Summary
  6. Appendix A: Choosing a Microsoft Tool
    1. Strengths and Weaknesses of Each Tool
    2. Reporting Services
    3. Excel/Excel Services
    4. Power View
    5. HTML5
    6. Matching a Visualization to a Tool
  7. Appendix B: DAX Function Reference
  8. About the Authors
  9. About the Contributor
  10. About the Technical Editors
  11. Credits
  12. Acknowledgments

Product information

  • Title: Visual Intelligence: Microsoft Tools and Techniques for Visualizing Data
  • Author(s): Mark Stacey, Joe Salvatore, Adam Jorgensen
  • Release date: April 2013
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781118388037