Visual Intelligence: Microsoft Tools and Techniques for Visualizing Data

Part I

Introduction to Data Visualization

In this part

• Chapter 1: Fundamentals of Visualization
• Chapter 2: Choosing a Visualization

Chapter 1

Fundamentals of Visualization

When we talk about visualizing data, it is important to understand that any representation of data other than simple text is visualization. The very first visualization was a tabular representation of numbers, and tables are still a very powerful visualization—indeed the most common. Tables, however, are not the most appropriate visualization for every type of data—visualizations such as bar, column, and line charts; scorecards and key performance indicators; network maps; and custom graphics drawn by an illustrator are all visualization techniques that, when used appropriately, convey the meaning of data better than a simple table.

This book explores the different visualization types and, more importantly, how to choose a visualization based on the data you have.

These explanations apply to any business intelligence application, but we perform implementation examples using the Microsoft stack—starting with Excel, the world’s most widely used Business Intelligence (BI) tool and then covering the entire toolset. We also explore the new world of custom visualization techniques using HTML5.

This book is divided into three parts: this first part introduces you to the subject of visualization; the second part introduces you to the tools you will use; and in the third part, you dive deeply into the individual visualizations, ...