Chapter 5: Data Visualization

Objectives:

Data Visualization

 Data visualization - the process of displaying data (often in large quantities) in a meaningful
fashion to provide insights that will support better decisions.
o Data visualization improves decision-making, provides managers with better analysis
capabilities that reduce reliance on IT professionals, and improves collaboration and
information sharing

Tabular VS Visual Data Analysis

 Tabular data can be used to determine exactly how many units of a certain product were sold in
a particular month, or to compare one month to another.
o For example, we see that sales of product A dropped in February, specifically by 6.7%
(computed as 1 – B3/B2). Beyond such calculations, however, it is difficult to draw big
picture conclusions.
o

 A visual chart provides the means to

o easily compare overall sales of different products (Product C sells the least, for
example);
o identify trends (sales of Product D are increasing), other patterns (sales of Product C is
relatively stable while sales of Product B fluctuates more over time), and exceptions
(Product E’s sales fell considerably in September).
Dashboards

 A dashboard is a visual representation of a set of key business measures. It is derived from

the analogy of an automobile’s control panel, which displays speed, gasoline level,
temperature, and so on.
o Dashboards provide important summaries of key business information to help manage
a business process or function
o

Types of Charts

creating Charts in Microsoft Excel

 Select the Insert tab.

 Highlight the data.
 Click on chart type, then subtype


 Use Chart Tools to customize

Column and Bar Charts

 Excel distinguishes between vertical and horizontal bar charts, calling the former column charts
and the latter bar charts.
o A clustered column chart compares values across categories using vertical rectangles;
o a stacked column chart displays the contribution of each value to the total by stacking
the rectangles;
o a 100% stacked column chart compares the percentage that each value contributes to a
total.
 Column and bar charts are useful for comparing categorical or ordinal data, for illustrating
differences between sets of values, and for showing proportions or percentages of a whole.

 creating a Column Chart
o Highlight the range from the dataset, which includes the headings and data for each
category. Click on the Column Chart button and then on the first chart type in the list (a
clustered column chart).
o
 

Line Charts

 Line charts provide a useful means for displaying data over time.
o You may plot multiple data series in line charts; however, they can be difficult to
interpret if the magnitude of the data values differs greatly. In that case, it would be
advisable to create separate charts for each data series.

Pie Charts

 A pie chart displays this by partitioning a circle into pie- shaped areas showing the relative
proportion.
 Example 3.4: A Pie Chart for Census Data


 Data visualization professionals don't recommend using pie charts.

 In a pie chart, it is difficult to compare the relative sizes of areas; however, the bars in the
column chart can easily be compared to determine relative ratios of the data.
o If you do use pie charts, restrict them to small numbers of categories, always ensure
that the numbers add to 100%, and use labels to display the group names and actual
percentages. Avoid three-dimensional (3-D) pie charts—especially those that are
rotated—and keep them simple.

Area Charts

 An area chart combines the features of a pie chart with those of line charts.
o Area charts present more information than pie or line charts alone but may clutter the
observer’s mind with too many details if too many data series are used; thus, they
should be used with care.
 Example 3.5: An Area Chart for Energy Consumption

Scatter Charts

 Scatter charts show the relationship between two variables. To construct a scatter chart, we
need observations that consist of pairs of variables.
 Example 3.6: A Scatter Chart for Real Estate Data


bubble Charts

 A bubble chart is a type of scatter chart in which the size of the data marker corresponds to the
value of a third variable; consequently, it is a way to plot three variables in two dimensions.
 Example 3.7: A Bubble Chart for Stock Comparisons

Miscellaneous Excel Charts

 Stock chart
 Surface chart
 Doughnut chart
 Radar chart

geographic Data

 Many applications of business analytics involve geographic data. Visualizing geographic data can
highlight key data relationships, identify trends, and uncover business opportunities. In
addition, it can often help to spot data errors and help end users understand solutions, thus
increasing the likelihood of acceptance of decision models.
 Companies like Nike use geographic data and information systems for visualizing where
products are being distributed and how that relates to demographic and sales information.This
information is vital to marketing strategies.
 Geographic mapping capabilities were introduced in Excel 2000 but were not available in Excel
2002 and later versions. These capabilities are now available through Microsoft MapPoint 2010,
which must be purchased separately.

Other Excel Data Visualization

 Data bars
 Color scales
 Icon sets
 Sparklines
 Camera tool

Data Visualization through Conditional Formatting

 Data bars display colored bars that are scaled to the magnitude of the data values (similar to a
bar chart) but placed directly within the cells of a range.
o Highlight the data in each column, click the Conditional Formatting button in the Styles
group within the Home tab, select Data Bars, and choose the fill option and color.
o
  Color scales shade cells based on their numerical value using a color palette.
o Color-coding of quantitative data is commonly called a heatmap.
o


 Icon sets provide similar information using various symbols such as arrows or stoplight colors.
o

Sparklines

 Sparklines are graphics that summarize a row or column of data in a single cell.
 Excel has three types of sparklines: line, column, and win/loss.
o Line sparklines are clearly useful for time-series data
o Column sparklines are more appropriate for categorical data.
o Win-loss sparklines are useful for data that move up or down over time.
 example of Sparklines



 Generally you need to expand the row or column widths to display them effectively. Notice,
however, that the lengths of the bars are not scaled properly to the data; for example, in the
first one, products D and E are roughly one-third the value of Product E yet the bars are not
scaled correctly. So be careful when using them.
