Win with Advanced Business Analytics: Creating Business Value from Your Data

CONCLUSION

As we have discussed throughout this book, effective business analytics is about integrating different types of information across your organization, in order to address critical business questions. Data visualization is a key component of that process and, when done well, enables you to bridge the gap between the data and your nonanalytical business audience. Now that we have reviewed all of the principles in the CONVINCE Framework for data visualization in more detail, let’s step back and remind ourselves of the eight principles:

Convey meaning

Objectivity

Necessity

Visual honesty

Imagine the audience

Nimble

Context

Encourage interaction

Hopefully, this chapter has provided you with a way to evaluate whether your business analytics team’s data visualizations are hitting the mark or whether there is room for improvement. As we mentioned earlier, data visualization is a half-creative and half-analytical exercise that requires graphic design, information architecture, information technology, and data analysis skills. In an effort to embrace the creative aspects of data visualization, we encourage your team to iterate on designs often and gather feedback frequently. Iterating on your designs allows them to evolve and enables you to try new visualizations quickly, before they are deployed to a larger group. Interestingly, in our experience, we have found that one of the most helpful tools is the tried-and-true pencil and paper; it allows for rapid prototyping ...