Data visualization
By sarvesh palanivel
What is data visualization
• Data visualization is the representation of data through
use of common graphics, such as charts, plots,
infographics and even animations. These visual displays of
information communicate complex data relationships and
data-driven insights in a way that is easy to understand.
It’s idea generation
• Data visualization is commonly used to spur idea
generation across teams. They are frequently leveraged
during brainstorming or Design Thinking sessions at the
start of a project by supporting the collection of different
perspectives and highlighting the common concerns of the
collective. While these visualizations are usually unpolished
and unrefined, they help set the foundation within the
project to ensure that the team is aligned on the problem
that they’re looking to address for key stakeholders..
It’s idea illustration
• Data visualization for idea illustration assists in conveying an idea,
such as a tactic or process. It is commonly used in learning settings,
such as tutorials, certification courses, centers of excellence, but it can
also be used to represent organization structures or processes,
facilitating communication between the right individuals for specific
tasks. Project managers frequently use Gantt charts and waterfall
charts to illustrate workflows. Data modeling also uses abstraction to
represent and better understand data flow within an enterprise’s
information system, making it easier for developers, business analysts,
data architects, and others to understand the relationships in a
database or data warehouse.
Visual discovery
• Visual discovery and every day data viz are more closely
aligned with data teams. While visual discovery helps data
analysts, data scientists, and other data professionals
identify patterns and trends within a dataset, every day
data viz supports the subsequent storytelling after a new
insight has been found.
Summary
• Data visualization is a critical step in the data science process, helping
teams and individuals convey data more effectively to colleagues and
decision makers. Teams that manage reporting systems typically leverage
defined template views to monitor performance. However, data
visualization isn’t limited to performance dashboards. For example,
while text mining an analyst may use a word cloud to to capture key
concepts, trends, and hidden relationships within this unstructured data.
Alternatively, they may utilize a graph structure to illustrate relationships
between entities in a knowledge graph. There are a number of ways to
represent different types of data, and it’s important to remember that it
is a skillset that should extend beyond your core analytics team.
Thank you
Credits: Sarvesh Palanivel