Big data and IT analytics are essential for any IT strategy, but how do you communicate and visualize the insights you generate from them? In this article, we will explore some best practices and tips for creating effective and engaging reports and dashboards that can help you showcase the value and impact of your IT analytics projects.
The first step to communicate and visualize IT analytics insights is to know your audience and their needs. Different stakeholders may have different expectations, preferences, and levels of technical knowledge, so you need to tailor your reports and dashboards accordingly. For example, senior executives may want to see high-level summaries and key performance indicators, while technical staff may want to see more details and drill-down options. You should also consider the format and frequency of your communication, whether it is a one-time presentation, a recurring report, or a real-time dashboard.
Communicating and visualizing IT analytics insights effectively is crucial to convey complex technical information to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
In the initial stages of any audience research, I usually use these guiding questions to help me create an audience profile: ?? Who is your target audience (eg. Position, Department and etc.)? ?? What are their pain points and challenges? ?? What motivates them to take action? ?? How much time do you have to communicate your message (eg. 1H in-person meeting, remote pre-recorded session) ?? What does success look like to you (eg. additional funds allocated to your department)? ?? What does success look like to you (eg. reduce churn by 15% in the next 6 months)? By asking these questions, you can gain a deeper understanding of your audience and create a message that resonates with them.
Partnering with the consumers of data is essential. It is the role of the analyst or scientist to help the consumer figure out what they need. This starts by determining the desired business outcome. -Data is an asset it should provide a return, what business value does this report, analysis or dashboard drive (for the consumer, the firm, or the customer)? -Try asking "five whys" to understand the reason the consumer is requesting a particular capability. Ask how this data will drive better decisions or enable valuable action etc. Don't assume you know (and don't assume they know). -Use what you learn to focus your effort on achieving outcomes. -Don't get lost in pretty visualizations focus on communicating valuable information.
The next step is to choose the right tools and platforms for your IT analytics reporting and visualization. There are many options available, from simple spreadsheet software to advanced business intelligence and data visualization tools. The best tool for you depends on your data sources, your analysis methods, and your desired output. Some factors to consider are the ease of use, the scalability, the security, the integration, and the customization of the tool. You should also evaluate the cost and the support of the tool, and how well it fits your IT strategy and goals.
-When looking for tools for your business partners think about what they like. Analytic tools are like cars - they all get the job done but it's the small features that influence how we feel about them. Just as the features that appeal to the casual driver differ from the performance driver the features that appeal to business partners may differ from an IT or data professional. -A carpenter doesn't use a hammer to cut wood and a firm needs a blend of tools is for their data needs. Be cautious in selecting all-in-one technologies - ensure they meet your current and future needs. Best of breed is now easier to implement as cross cloud integration and loosely coupled architectures have become the norm. Build the right toolbox.
When designing reports and dashboards, clarity and simplicity should be the focus. To achieve this, use clear and consistent titles, labels, and legends. Additionally, appropriate and meaningful colors, fonts, and icons should be used. Charts and graphs should be chosen based on the data type and message. Filters, slicers, and interactive features can enable exploration and discovery. Annotations, highlights, and alerts can draw attention and provide context. Finally, white space, alignment, and balance can create a visual hierarchy and flow.
-Simplicity and clarity is critical for successful dashboards and reports. The essential information should jump out at the consumer. -Think about the dashboard of your car or the alerts on your phone. A very small presentation (a red light, the envelope or chat symbol, the position of the speedometer) communicate the need for attention in a particular area or the current status of the system. Your visualizations, reports, or analyses should do the same. -Make sure that your various outputs are presented in the language of the business not the language of a data scientist or IT professional.
Less is more is what to aim for. The customer should have a say in any design. As after all it’s for them not the designers.
The fourth step is to tell a story with your data. You want to go beyond the numbers and facts, and convey the meaning and implications of your IT analytics insights. To do this, you should use a logical and coherent structure and sequence for your report or dashboard, with headings, subheadings, and summaries to guide your audience and highlight the key points. Narratives, captions, and annotations can explain and interpret your data, while comparisons, contrasts, and trends can show patterns and relationships. Additionally, scenarios, cases, and examples can illustrate and personalize your data, and emotions, humor, and surprises can engage and persuade your audience.
While I agree to some extent with the response above in my experience simplicity and clarity are extremely important. Again, don't get lost in prettiness or try to be exhaustively complete. People don't have time to digest complex output. Annotations, scenarios, examples are all good but don't overdue - often less is more. Remember ultimately you are trying to drive business value - entertainment is good but not at the cost of the underlying purpose of the data.
The final step is to test and refine your report or dashboard. You want to make sure that your communication and visualization are accurate, effective, and user-friendly. To do this, you should check your data sources, calculations, and formulas for errors and inconsistencies. Additionally, you should check your charts, graphs, and visuals for clarity, accuracy, and relevance, as well as your layout, design, and aesthetics for appeal, readability, and usability. Furthermore, you should check your story, message, and tone for coherence, impact, and alignment. Lastly, you should check your report or dashboard on different devices, browsers, and screen sizes for compatibility and responsiveness. It is also important to solicit feedback and suggestions from your audience and stakeholders, and make adjustments and improvements as needed.
Good quality control is essential but don't "polish the rock". One of the great values of modern data\analytics technologies is that they lend themselves to agile and iterative design approaches. - Use the MVP (minimum viable product) concept to produce a first release of the desired capability. The sooner you use the tool in practice the sooner you get real world feedback. -Be prepared to iterate - build iterative releases into your plan or use an agile methodology to release capabilities to the business and collect feedback. -We were very successful using the approach for finance and sales dashboards. It helped us get better at using the tools and help the business partners figure out what they really needed.
-Don't lose sight of the underlying data. If it's not good you won't get the desired outcome regardless of everything else. If you business partners are looking for insights the current data can't provide use it as a forcing function to close quality or completeness gaps and drive up the value of the firms data assets. -Always keep focus on the business outcomes - technology bigotry, politics, competing internal capabilities can all be distractions that can result in a failure to realize return on investment.