Effective Big Data Visualization

Effective Big Data Visualization Every Picture Tells A Story Don t It? Mark Gamble Director Technical Marketing Actuate Corporation 1 Data Driven Summit 2014

Agenda What is data visualization? What is good? Ed Tufte principles Stephen Few principles Visualizing data Chart basics Visualization Examples BIRT Style Techniques 2 Data Driven Summit 2014

Agenda What is data visualization? What is good? Ed Tufte principles Stephen Few principles Visualizing data Chart basics Visualization Examples BIRT Style Techniques 3 Data Driven Summit 2014

What is data visualization? Data Visualization is the art of information As big data becomes bigger, and more companies deal with complex datasets with dozens of variables, data visualization will become even more important. Julie Steele Editor, Strata O Reilly Media http://radar.oreilly.com/2012/02/why data visualization matters.html 4 Data Driven Summit 2014

What is good data visualization? Different things to different people.. Consider your audience How will they use the information? How statistically savvy are they? How do they consume the information? Review the expert opinions Ed Tufte Stephen Few 5 Data Driven Summit 2014

Edward Tufte 5 Grand Principles Of Data Visualization 1. Enforce Visual Comparisons 6 Data Driven Summit 2014

Edward Tufte 5 Grand Principles Of Data Visualization 1. Enforce Visual Comparisons 2. Show Causality 7 Data Driven Summit 2014 Source: The Atlas of True Names, by cartography firm Kalimedia

Edward Tufte 5 Grand Principles Of Data Visualization 1. Enforce Visual Comparisons 2. Show Causality 3. Show Multivariate Data 8 Data Driven Summit 2014 Source: Periscopic Data Visualization Consulting

Edward Tufte 5 Grand Principles Of Data Visualization 1. Enforce Visual Comparisons 2. Show Causality 3. Show Multivariate Data 4. Integrate All Visual Elements 10 Data Driven Summit 2014

Edward Tufte 5 Grand Principles Of Data Visualization 1. Enforce Visual Comparisons 2. Show Causality 3. Show Multivariate Data 4. Integrate All Visual Elements 5. Content Driven Design Quality Data Relevance Integrity Good information design will never save poor content! 11 Data Driven Summit 2014 http://www.jonkolko.com/projectfiles/scad/iact370_05_tufteprinciples.pdf

Stephen Few 7 Core Design Principles For Displaying Quantitative Information 1. Display neither more nor less than what is relevant to your message 4,5 4 Travel Trends 2013 (in Billions) 5 4,5 4 Travel Trends 2013 (in Billions) 3,5 3,5 3 3 2,5 2,5 2 2 1,5 1,5 1 1 0,5 0,5 0 Resorts Cruises Theme Parks World Tours 0 Resorts Cruises Theme Parks World Tours 12 Data Driven Summit 2014

Stephen Few 7 Core Design Principles For Displaying Quantitative Information 2. Don t include visual differences in a graph that do not correspond to realistic comparison 5 Travel Trends 2013 (in Billions) 4,5 4 3,5 3 2,5 2 1,5 1 0,5 0 Resorts Cruises Theme Parks World Tours 13 Data Driven Summit 2014

Stephen Few 7 Core Design Principles For Displaying Quantitative Information 3. Use the size and location of objects to encode quantitative values 14 Data Driven Summit 2014

Stephen Few 7 Core Design Principles For Displaying Quantitative Information 4. Differences in values should be portrayed accurately 4,9 Travel Trends 2013 (in Billions) 5 Travel Trends 2013 (in Billions) 4,5 4,4 4 3,5 3,9 3 2,5 3,4 2 1,5 2,9 1 0,5 2,4 Resorts Cruises Theme Parks World Tours 0 Resorts Cruises Theme Parks World Tours 15 Data Driven Summit 2014

Stephen Few 7 Core Design Principles For Displaying Quantitative Information 5. Do not connect values that are discrete, suggesting a relationship that does not exist 70000 Plan Actual 60000 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 North South East West 16 Data Driven Summit 2014

Stephen Few 7 Core Design Principles For Displaying Quantitative Information 6. Emphasize the information that is most important to your message 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 Stock Gains/Losses For Period AMEX APPL CSCO IBM JKL TREK NABS BIRT 17 Data Driven Summit 2014

Stephen Few 7 Core Design Principles For Displaying Quantitative Information 7. Augment people s short term memory by combining multiple facts into a single visual pattern 18 Data Driven Summit 2014 Source: Periscopic Data Visualization Consulting

Stephen Few 7 Core Design Principles For Displaying Quantitative Information Good data visualization takes the burden of effort off the brain and puts it on the eyes 19 Data Driven Summit 2014 http://www.perceptualedge.com/articles/whitepapers/visual_communication.pdf

Agenda What is data visualization? What is good? Ed Tufte principles Stephen Few principles Visualizing data Chart basics Visualization Examples BIRT Style Techniques 20 Data Driven Summit 2014

Chart Basics: how do I best depict the data? Choose the appropriate visual for the information Tracking values over time (eg: daily sales for the past quarter): LINE CHARTS or AREA CHARTS with the time dimension on the X axis Comparing summarized amounts across categories (eg: transactions by merchant): COLUMN or BAR CHARTS Comparing a percentage value against the whole (eg: % breakdown of total expense by division): PIE or DONUT CHARTS Displaying current performance by region/state/country/territory MAPS (color coded, sub graphics overlay) Animated Visuals interaction increases value 21 Data Driven Summit 2014

Chart Basics: how do I best depict the data? Chart Tips When category values are too long to display in the X axis of a column chart pivot the X axis to vertical alignment (bar chart) On column or bar charts, show bars sorted by value ONLY when you want to convey ranking Otherwise X axis categories will shift when displayed with different contexts On a line chart, show data point markers ONLY if you want to convey specific values Otherwise it detracts from trend depiction of a smoother line 23 Data Driven Summit 2014

Agenda What is data visualization? What is good? Ed Tufte principles Stephen Few principles Visualizing data Chart basics Visualization Examples BIRT Style Techniques 24 Data Driven Summit 2014

Demo Visualization Examples Based on BIRT Utilizing native and 3 rd party visualization libraries Deployed from the BIRT ihub 25 Data Driven Summit 2014

Agenda What is data visualization? What is good? Ed Tufte principles Stephen Few principles Visualizing data Chart basics Visualization Examples BIRT Style Techniques 33 Data Driven Summit 2014

BIRT Style Techniques Visual Styling Enhances Aesthetic Quality and Understanding 3 layers of style control in BIRT: Styles Granular aesthetic settings font family, font size, font color, etc Themes Collections of Styles Following a Specific Scheme Libraries Encapsulation of BIRT components, including Themes Centralized Control of Application Look n Feel 34 Data Driven Summit 2014

Styles Based on Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Options: Creating custom styles in your report design Predefined styles in your theme Custom styles in your theme Importing a CSS file into your theme Linking to an external CSS file in your theme 35 Data Driven Summit 2014

Themes A theme is a set of styles applied to BIRT visualizations Themes can be defined at Report level Object level (table, crosstab, chart, label ) Can use default themes Can create custom themes 36 Data Driven Summit 2014

Libraries Libraries are collections of reusable components Data items (connections, data sources, parameters) Report Items Reusable report items Master pages Themes Aesthetics Provides centralized control for Themes and Styles Enables Rapid Changes Change Styles/Themes in Library Will Update Entire Application 37 Data Driven Summit 2014

Demo BIRT Style Techniques CSS Library Themes Styles 38 Data Driven Summit 2014

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