Evaluating Data Visualization
November 16, 2011 7:33 am Dashboards, Data VisualizationOrganizations are constantly struggling to quantify the not insignificant investment in business intelligence. In spite of this, according to a study by TDWI Research, adoption of data visualization technologies is growing by leaps and bounds. But what about levels of engagement with BI tools – are users ready to let go of there old reporting habits? The report suggests that we have a long way to go:
“Most users continue to interact with data via static tables: nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of users consume data primarily in the context of tables and text versus 35 percent who interact chiefly with visual charts or graphs”
“Although some data is better suited to non-visual rendering, it’s clear that old habits die hard.”
There are still many executives out there insisting on their old style of text reports and ineffective graph styles – purely because they ‘know how to read them’…too bad that it only tells them a fraction of what a more effective form of visualization will. Old habits die hard. Very hard.
The report suggests that up to 65% of executives and managers are reluctant to change from static reports to dashboards.
However, visual analysis isn’t always warranted – a simple data set displayed as bar charts provides little more than a simple table of numbers. In these cases, the data is not complex enough to warrant data visualization.
Insufficient complexity is just one barrier to the use of data visualization. The other major barrier that is all too prevalent [ I estimate over 90%] is in poor design of visual interfaces. Dashboard design is still in its infancy – and the tendency to use graph types and colors better suited to PowerPoint presentations is all too common.
Poor design just makes reading large sets of data more complex and less effective. The user essentially gets visual overload. Helping executives to understand the principles of visual perception can help them more readily accept a well designed dashboard that they many initially see as ‘less colorful’ than the presentation style graphics they are used to.
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