Data Visualisation software provides the user with a visual representation of their underlying data. They say a picture speaks a thousand words. Well, following the same principle, visuals such as charts, graphs, pie charts, gauges and sparklines allow users to visualise large volumes of data in an instant.
There are many ways to represent data graphically. The most common in a business environment has traditionally been the graph, be it a bar or line chart, or the humble pie chart. As time moved on, people started getting ‘creative’ with these charts, adding more colours and creating them in ‘3D’.
Today, the dashboard or scorecard is prevalent in many organisations. A collection of gauges, traffic lights and pie charts, today’s modern dashboard aims to provide a more engaging platform than the graphs and charts of a few years ago.
The market is not standing still however. The representation of data in a visual form is a fast growing market and many new innovations can be found.
Sparklines, a concept developed by Edward Tufte and popularised by Stephen Few, aims to large quantities of data in a small concise linear graphic. Avoiding all the unnecessary complexities of a line chart, a sparkline sits on its own, clearly showing a trend for the data set with it’s final value.
Bullet graphs are a variation on the bar graph theme. Conveying information without distraction is one of Stephen Few’s chief aims, and once you see a few examples of his work, you will understand why. Both of these graph types have been implemented in products designed by Bonavista Systems, now owned by XLCubed. They are well worth a look.
There is a constant need to better visualize complex data in a understandable way. This data needs to be readily accessibly and simple to understand. Throught the use of decomposition trees, heat maps, mindmaps and animated graphics, this looks to be a very exciting area of Business Intelligence.