DSA Insights

This video is a little dated (been out about a year), but is well worth the 6 minutes it takes to watch.

The presentation is crisp and very well designed with a great shock factor. People using PowerPoint could do well to mimic the design of this presentation and put away the fifteen bullets per slide.

My suggestion: embrace change, evolve while taking responsibility for your own development and remove the word “can’t” from your vocabulary.

Some quotes:

• “The top 10 jobs in 2010 didn’t exist in 2004 and we are preparing students for jobs that don’t even exist in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.”
• “If MySpace subscribers were a country, it would be the 11th largest in the world.”
• “Who answered all of our questions before Google (B.G.)?”
• “By 2049 a $1,000 computer will exceed the computational capabilities of the human race.”
• “About 1.5 exabytes of unique information will be generated this year, which is more than in the previous 5,000 years.”

Here is a table that defines byte sizes:

(Source: Wikipedia)

The old stack ‘em up trick…

This graph is renders beautifully. From the x-axis labels being shortened to the lack of chartjunk in the form of gridlines and excessive tick marks. The colors definitely make the chart stand out. I don’t think many would argue that point.

If you take a look at an earlier post, I featured another visualization taken from the same page of BusinessWeek’s January 28th issue. As you will see, the color scheme for the whole page was green and yellow.

This graph shows two points very well!

1. The first point is the trend of “The Detroit Three” shown in green below. I can quickly and accurately see the initial jump, plateau and then gradual decline.
2. The second point that is definitive is the total for both the Foreign series and The Detroit Three series. The total sharply rises until 2000 and then starts a gradual decline over the next seven years.

What is almost impossible to determine is the change in Foreign sales from year to year and over the entire sixteen years. Intuitively, I can see that after about year 2000 the yellow portion is larger because the total is about the same while the green section gets smaller. Simply put, the reason a stacked bar chart is a poor choice when comparing more than one series over time is due to the baseline not being the same for the second (yellow) series.

For this example, the point isn’t what the total sales were over sixteen years. The point is how one compare to the other. I know this from the title of the page being, Detroit is still behind, despite hard-won gains.

Point: When showing more than one series over time (time being the key here) the most logical choice should be a line graph. I’ve seen some horrid stacked bar charts with many more segments. On a rare occasion, I may use a stacked bar chart only when time or trending is not a factor.

I found the chart below in the Numbers section of the January 28th issue of BusinessWeek. The purpose of the data visualization is to show the degree of dependability by automaker. The assumption is that you are quickly going to look for the maker of an automobile you may own, hence the alpha sort. If I am in the market for a new vehicle, I may be more interested in the automakers that are the most dependable. If that was the intention, a descending sort by rating would have been best. Ideally, there would be an interactive option online to sort either way using a radio button, sort hyperlink or check box.

The title of the page is: Detroit is still behind despite hard-won gains. I can only assume that the automakers located in the U.S. are those labeled in bold. I find that both the print and soft copy don’t make them stand out enough. I may have used a different color (subtle) to denote the U.S. automakers.

I find that the yellow spheres are redundant and make the visual more complicated than necessary. A change that may help is to either eliminate the yellow spheres or remove the filling and use the same color. Also, by using the same color without fill, you have the option for half increments. The image below was created using Harvey Balls, which are extremely easy to use and add to your data visualization toolkit. Check out an earlier post to learn more about Harvey Balls.

Note: the print version below has the legend on top and rotated 90 degrees to make it horizontal, which is easier to read.

In a recent issue of BusinessWeek , I found the picture shown below. A simple pie chart would show this data, but this adds a certain flare that caught my eye. Maybe it only caught my eye because I live and breathe data analysis and visualization… Regardless, it’s similar to a horizontal stacked bar chart, but with more pizzazz.

I have stated before that I don’t like stacked bar charts, and I don’t. Whenever you compare more than one component over time, it becomes very ineffective. Once you get beyond the first series of data, the baseline is not the same, making a comparison difficult. However, when you only compare a few pieces of data without time on an axis, a horizontal stacked bar chart can be effective. You can visit an earlier post to get more information on stacked bar charts.

In the graphic below, there are some things I might have done differently. For example, the last 3% is a little hard to distinguish because of how small it is compared to the rest. The first and last colors are very hard to differentiate in the print version. In this picture, the colors are more defined, making the comparison easier.

I share this with you to promote more abstract thinking when it comes to presenting data without losing effectiveness. I can tell you this: if I was an Executive and someone brought me this visualization instead of a pie chart, I would be impressed!

Visualize this: you’re watching a presentation and the slides are gliding by with every imaginable abuse of PowerPoint: fifteen bullets per slide, clip-art images, data-packed charts that aren’t even visible, goofy transitions, then along comes this slide. The only thing on the slide is this picture below. All of a sudden ears perk up and slouching turns to posture only a second grade teacher could be proud of. Dare to be different, yet effective!

Without regard to any minute details or scale, I replicated this visualization using Excel, which is shown below. I literally spent about seven minutes creating this in Excel. Granted it looks a little better when the image isn’t modified to fit this blog, but you get the idea. In a future post, I may show how this is done in a screencast, which I can guarantee won’t take longer than a minute.

Stay tuned!

Even though this video is intended to be comedic, it contains some valuable tips on effective PowerPoint presentations. I have seen it a few different places on the web and wanted to share it here.

My favorite is the slide where he spoofs data visualizations and how many people typically overdo it.

Enjoy!

In the December 10, 2007 copy of Businessweek, I came across the horizontal bar chart below. Fundamentally, it depicts employee versus employer annual percent change in health insurance costs from 2004 to 2007. As you can quickly see, the horizontal bar chart is lacking in effectiveness unless you tilt your head ninety degrees to your right. So, I added a few of my own that really only took a few minutes to create.

Businessweek version:

Here is my Excel version using approximate values.

Here is my Xcelsius version with approximate values.

What I found interesting is that when you adjust the size of the graph, you get a more dramatic slope in both lines between 2006 and 2007. I wouldn’t recommend changing the size to maximize your theory or objective. Also, I do not like that the y-axis starts at 2% instead of 0% in the Xcelsius version. (Recommended reading: How to Lie With Statistics)

Below is my version using Open Office , which is an open-source (free) project that contains most of the products commonly found in the Microsoft Office Suite.

Finally, below is my version using Google Docs, which had minimal formatting options that I could find. I’m not even going to post the Many-Eyes version due to its lack of formatting. If you want to see it click here .

My preference is either the Excel or Xcelsius version, which illustrate the 4-year trend much better than the horizontal bar chart. Both took about the same amount of time to fine-tune. If I was limited on budget and didn’t want to spend any money, I would go with Open Office over Google Docs. There are many more formatting options in Open Office that help to create an effective data visualization. The only drawback is the amount of manipulation it takes to get from the default graph to the ones shown above. Both Excel and Xcelsius default to a horrid looking graph that I wouldn’t recommend using (both shown below).

Default Excel Chart:

Default Xcelsius Chart:

Which one(s) do you like the best? Would you suggest another option not found here?

As I have stated is previous posts, I am not a big fan of pie charts. This is one use of a derivative of pies that I do consider effective in some cases. Most folks know the pictogram below as Harvey Balls, which can be used to indicate the degree (5 step scale) an item meets some standard or criteria. Even Edward Tufte stated in The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, “This is a particular ingenious mix of table and graphic, portraying a complex set of comparison…” A great use of Harvey Balls is to compare products, cars, software, etc where concrete numbers do not exist.

Consumer Reports created a variation, shown below, of Harvey Balls and popularized them in their magazine. Their version uses a small dot for the excellent rating to further differentiate it from poor if printed in black and white. Also, if done in color, you can quickly pick out those rated in black (fair or poor) from those in red (excellent or very good).

Additionally, Consumer Reports includes a horizontal bar chart, sorted in descending order, to show the overall score each item received. This puts those items with the best score on top and lowest on the bottom. Another great element they have is listing the critical features with a check mark if that one is present in the item. Anyone using Consumer Reports would probably agree that this rating system is very effective and comprehensive. Now, whether the ratings are fair or accurate is a different topic.

Finally, the last figure below shows one item’s (vehicle) rating in each category over time. This gives the reader a view into what were problem areas in the past versus now. Whenever I have researched a new vehicle or significant item purchase, I have utilized Consumer Reports.

A great application of Harvey Balls could be to compare your company against its competitors in different strategic areas such as: procurement, services, products, technology, customer service, billing, financials, etc.

If you are interested in adding Harvey Balls to your “tool kit”, the font can be downloaded here (provided by Sonia Coleman). Just download the font and add it to the font folder. While using PowerPoint, Word, Excel, etc, when you click Insert -> Symbol there should be an option for a font called Pie Charts for Maps, which gives you every option needed to create Harvey Balls on your own. Also, you can modify the color or size just like any other font. I found this method the fastest after downloading the font.

To learn more about adding fonts to a MAC Operating System click here .

To learn more about adding fonts to a Windows Operating System click here .

If you have a more efficient way to create Harvey Balls or additional application, please share it.

Here is a recap of the posts for this series:

1. Bar vs. Line Chart Part 4 – My Preference
2. Bar vs. Line Chart Part 3 – Stacked Bar Example 2
3. Bar vs. Line Chart Part 2 – Column Panel, Sparklines and Waterfall Chart
4. Bar vs. Line Chart Part 1 – Small Multiples Line Graph

Here is the original stacked bar chart that GE used in its 2006 annual report. 

This is my enhanced version of the data using a line graph.  The only part missing, which could be added easily is the total for all business segments. 

The main reason I prefer this graph over the stacked bar chart is because I can quickly see the change for each business segment over the five year period.  There is no referencing letters to a legend or illusion from stacking the segments.   If you’re color blind it wouldn’t matter with this graph.  Another plus is the minimal amount of real estate that this one takes up.  Best of all, this is very close to a default Excel line graph with minimal formatting changes.

How much data can you cram into one bar chart?  The bar chart below, taken from GE’s 2006 Annual Report, attempts seven; six different business segments and the total for all segments.  The only bar that is relatively effective is segment F, Industrial.  Other than Industrial, I can see that the total revenue rises from $108 Billion in 2002 to $159 Billion in 2006.  In general, I find it much easier to see trending over time by using a line graph versus a bar chart.  As soon as you add more than one object to a bar chart with time across the x-axis, the graph becomes worthless. 

 Here is why I think this bar chart is ineffective:

¨     There are no labels on the y-axis for reference

¨     It takes entirely too long to cross reference a letter to business segment

¨     It is nearly impossible to differentiate scale after the first segment

¨     It’s deceptive because a segment may appear higher in subsequent years, only due to the lower segment increasing.

¨     The chart has too much unutilized (white) space in key areas

I have added two Excel graphs that I believe are much more effective.  The only downside is that they use a bit more real estate. But, I welcome the tradeoff.  The only difference between the two Excel charts is one is more horizontal and the other vertical.  I prefer the one that is horizontal because I think it’s easier to view left to right.

The benefit to using the Excel version is each line graph is highly effective.  Within seconds, I can see the trend of each business segment as well as the total trend for GE over the five-year period.  If I were to use a tool that has a selection option, where the chart changes as a different segment is selected, I would be no better off.  The problem is there can be no comparison when you only see one segment at a time.  Edward Tufte popularized the term, small multiples, to represent a series of small similar pictures, making a point through repetition.  See the examples and make your own conclusions.

Fact: Did you know that pie charts date back over 200 years to 1801?  

I found this example in AIG’s annual report.  My intention isn’t to be critical of AIG, it’s to show a more effective solution.  Recently, I wrote a post that ranked the top annual reports based on a few data visualization basics and AIG fell towards the bottom of that list.  Take a look at the pie chart below.  Let me ask one very simple question.  Why include the pie chart?  The data is already present and organized in descending order in the table, which is really ample. 

I can only presume they did because people have been conditioned to always think, pie chart, when looking at parts of a whole.  When I look at the pie chart below, all I want to do is slap down a $20 bill, pick a color and spin it!  

Statisticians tend to regard pie charts as a poor method of displaying information. While pie charts are common in business and economics, they are uncommon in scientific literature. One reason for this is that it is more difficult for comparisons to be made between the size of items in a chart when area is used instead of length. …This suggests that length is a better scale to use, since perceived differences would be linearly related to actual differences.

      source 

One of the purposes of a chart or graph is to give the person looking at it a quick and effective means of comparing multiple values.  Using the pie chart alone in the example below, it’s nearly impossible to compare the values accurately.  The one thing I can quickly deduce is that it has been a long time since visiting the money wheel at Foxwoods!

Below is the chart that I would prefer to see when looking at parts of a whole.  I like this style because it’s easy to create, very effective and doesn’t use Excel Charts, which can be maddening to get just right.  Albeit not perfect, it’s pretty close and much easier to create.  You really don’t even need the numbers, but for this example, I wanted to show them to attest the scale works.