Google data analytics professional course

Week - 1
Communicating your data insights

Course content
● Data visualization
● Data visualizations with Tableau
● Stories about your data
● Developing presentations and slideshows
● Course Challenge

Understand data visualization

Why data visualization matters

It will convey the whole data analysis process in a single picture within a
minit.

During data visualization a diagram must contains

● Goal
● Story (concept)
● Information (data)
● Visual form
Effective data visualizations
● https://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/what-makes-a-g
ood-data-visualization/
● https://junkcharts.typepad.com/junk_charts/junk-charts-trifecta-ch
eckup-the-definitive-guide.html

M​arks are basic visual objects like points, lines, and shapes. Every mark can
be broken down into four qualities.
1.Position - Where a specific mark is in space in relation to a scale or to
other marks

2. Size - How big, small, long, or tall a mark is

3. Shape - Whether a specific object is given a shape that communicates

something about it

4. Color - What color the mark is

C​hannels are visual aspects or variables that represent characteristics of
the data. Channels are basically marks that have been used to visualize data.
Channels will vary in terms of how effective they are at communicating data
based on three elements
1. Accuracy - Are the channels helpful in accurately estimating the values
being represented?

2. Popout - How easy is it to distinguish certain values from others?

3. Grouping - How good is a channel at communicating groups that exist in

the data?
.
Design principles
● Choose the right visual
● Optimize the data-ink ratio
● Use orientation effectively
● Color
● Numbers of things
Optimize the data-ink ratio
The data-ink entails focusing on the part of the visual that is essential to
understanding the point of the chart. Try to minimize non-data ink like boxes
around legends or shadows to optimize the data-ink ratio.

Use orientation effectively

Make sure the written components of the visual, like the labels on a bar
chart, are easy to read. You can change the orientation of your visual to
make it easier to read and understand.

What to avoid
● Cutting off the y-axis
● Misleading use of a dual y-axis
● Artificially limiting the scope of the data
● Problematic choices in how data is binned or grouped
● Using part-to-whole visuals when the totals do not sum up
appropriately
● Hiding trends in cumulative charts
● Artificially smoothing trends
Further readings
● https://www.ted.com/talks/david_mccandless_the_beauty_of_data_visualization?language=
en#t-150183
● https://artscience.blog/home/the-mccandless-method-of-data-presentation
● https://informationisbeautiful.net/
● https://informationisbeautiful.net/beautifulnews/
● https://www.amazon.com/Street-Journal-Guide-Information-Graphics/dp/0393072959
The beauty of visualizing

● The data visualization catalogue:

https://datavizcatalogue.com/#google_vignette
● The 25 best data visualizations:
https://visme.co/blog/best-data-visualizations/
● 10 data visualization blogs:
https://www.tableau.com/learn/articles/best-data-visualization-blogs
● Information is beautiful:
https://informationisbeautiful.net/wdvp/gallery-2019/
● Data studio gallery:
https://datastudio.google.com/gallery?category=visualization

Engage your audience

A recipe for a powerful visualization

Types of Graphs
➢ Time Series chart
➢ Histogram
➢ Bar chart
➢ Correlation charts
Correlation and causation
● Correlation in statistics is the measure of the degree to which two
variables move in relationship to each other.
● Causation refers to the idea that an event leads to a specific outcome.

● https://towardsdatascience.com/correlation-is-not-causation-ae05d03
c1f53
● https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/praxis-math/praxis-math-les
sons/gtp--praxis-math--lessons--statistics-and-probability/a/gtp--pra
xis-math--article--correlation-and-causation--lesson

The wonderful world of visualizations

Line chart
Column chart

Heatmap

Pie chart
Scatter plot

Distribution graph

Data grows on decision trees

A decision tree is a decision-making tool that allows you, the data analyst, to
make decisions based on key questions that you can ask yourself.
● https://www.data-to-viz.com/
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C07k0euBpr8

Design data visualizations

The elements of art
● line,
● shape,
● color,
● space and
● Movement
Principles of design
Nine basic principles of design

Data visualization impact

Data composition
It's achieved by combining the individual parts of a visualization and
displaying them together as a whole.

Data is beautiful
Refer pdf’s “ M6_W1_Data is beautiful.pdf “

Design thinking and visualizations

Design thinking
Design thinking is a process used to solve complex problems in a user-centric
way.
Design thinking for visualization improvement
Design thinking for data visualization involves five phases:

1. Empathize: Thinking about the emotions and needs of the target

audience for the data visualization
2. Define: Figuring out exactly what your audience needs from the data
3. Ideate: Generating ideas for data visualization
4. Prototype: Putting visualizations together for testing and feedback
5. Test: Showing prototype visualizations to people before stakeholders
see them.
● https://dataconomy.com/2019/05/three-critical-aspects-of-design-th
inking-for-big-data-solutions/
● https://www.enginess.io/insights/data-and-design-thinking
Explore visualization considerations

Headlines, subtitles, and labels

Accessible visualizations

Color Blindness
https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases
/color-blindness

Web Accessibility Guidelines v1.0 Foundations - Overview

http://web-accessibility.carnegiemuseums.org/design/color/
Designing a chart in 60 minutes

Week-2

Get started with Tableau

● #: Numeric data
● Abc: String data
● Globe: Geographic data
● Calendar: Date data
● Calendar with a clock: Date and time data

All about tabula basics

Create visualizations in Tableau

Self-Reflection: Selecting visuals and charts

● Five-second rule: A data visualization should be clear, effective, and
convincing enough to be absorbed in five seconds or less.
● Color contrast: Graphs and charts should use a diverging color
palette to show contrast between elements.
● Conventions and expectations: Visuals and their organization should
align with audience expectations and cultural conventions. For
example, if the majority of your audience associates green with a
positive concept and red with a negative one, your visualization should
reflect this.
● Minimal labels: Titles, axes, and annotations should use as few labels
as it takes to make sense. Having too many labels makes your graph or
chart too busy. It takes up too much space and prevents the labels
from being shown clearly.

Work with multiple data sources

Linking data in Tableau (Refer video)

Tableau resources for combining multiple data sources

● https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/datasource_prepare.htm
● https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/joining_tables.htm
● https://help.tableau.com/v2020.2/pro/desktop/en-us/datasource_dont_be_scared.htm
● https://help.tableau.com/current/online/en-us/datasource_relationships_learnmorepage.ht
m
● https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/multiple_connections.htm
● https://kb.tableau.com/articles/howto/combining-start-and-end-dates-into-a-single-axis
Week-3

Use data to develop stories

Data storytelling steps
● Engage your audience,
● Create compelling visuals, and
● Tell the story in an interesting way

Effective data stories

Setting context
● How does the visualization help set the context?
● How does the visualization help clarify the data?
● Do you notice data visualization best practice?

Analyzing variables
● How does the visualization perform against the five-second rule?
● How does the visualization help clarify the data?
● Do you notice data visualization best practice?

Drawing conclusions
● How does the visualization help make a point?
● How does the visualization help clarify the data?
● Do you notice data visualization best practice?

Additional resources
● https://www.nugit.co/what-is-data-storytelling/
● https://www.analyticsvidhya.com/blog/2020/05/art-storytelling-analytics-data-science/
● https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/use-data-and-analytics-to-tell-a-story
● https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-strategies/data-and-measurement/tell-meanin
gful-stories-with-data/
Use Tableau dashboards
A dashboard is a tool that organizes information from multiple data sets
into one central location for tracking, analysis, and simple visualization
through tables, charts, and graphs.

Live and static insights

Identifying whether data is live or static depends on certain factors:

● How old is the data?

● How long until the insights are stale or no longer valid to make
decisions?
● Does this data or analysis need updating on a regular basis to remain
valuable?

S​tatic data involves providing screenshots or snapshots in presentations or

building dashboards using snapshots of data. There are pros and cons to
static data.

L​ive data means that you can build dashboards, reports, and views connected
to automatically updated data.
Build a dashboard in Tableau
Hands-On Activity: Creating, filtering, and customizing
charts in spreadsheet
● https://support.google.com/docs/answer/63824
● https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/create-a-chart-from-sta
rt-to-finish-0baf399e-dd61-4e18-8a73-b3fd5d5680c2
● https://guides.lib.umich.edu/c.php?g=283162&p=1886446
Sharing data stories

Compelling presentation tips

You share with your stakeholders needs
● Characters,
● A setting,
● A plot,
● A big reveal, and an
● Aha moment
Characters
The characters are the people affected by your story.
A setting
which describes what's going on, how often it's happening, what tasks are
involved, and other background information about the data project that
describes the current situation.
A plot
The plot, sometimes called the conflict, is what creates tension in the
current situation. This could be a challenge from a competitor, an inefficient
process that needs to be fixed, or a new opportunity that the company just
can't pass up.
A big reveal
The big reveal, or resolution, is how the data has shown that you can solve
the problem the characters are facing by becoming more competitive,
improving a process, inventing a new system, or whatever the ultimate goal of
your data project may be.
Aha moment
Aha moment is when you share your recommendations and explain why you
think they'll help your company be successful.
Practice presenting

Create screenshots of your dashboard

Prepare a presentation

Create your slides

● https://www.google.com/slides/about/
● https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/free-office-online-for-the-web
● https://prezi.com/

Record yourself
● https://www.screencastify.com/
● https://www.techsmith.com/download/camtasia/
Evaluating your presentation
Watch the video of your presentation. As you watch it, go through
the following checklist. Each point is related to a best practice for
presentations.
Do you:
● Use an attention-grabbing opening?
● Start with broad ideas and later talk about specific details?
● Speak in short sentences?
● Pause for five seconds after showing a data visualization?
● Pause intentionally at certain points?
● Keep the pitch of your voice level?
● Stand still and move with purpose?
● Maintain good posture?
● Look at your audience (or camera) while speaking?
● Keep your message concise?
● End by explaining why the data analysis matters?
Evaluate your slide deck
Next, it’s time to evaluate your slide deck. Watch your video again. As
you watch it, consider the following questions. Each question is related
to a best practice for slide decks.

Do you:

● Include a good title and subtitle that describe what you’re about to
present?
● Include the date of your presentation or the date when your slideshow
was last updated?
● Use a font size that lets the audience easily read your slides?
● Showcase what business metrics you used?
● Include effective visuals (like charts and graphs)?
Week-4

The art and science of an effective

presentation

Weaving data into your presentation

McCandless Method
The McCandless Method moves from the general to the specific,
like it's building a pyramid.

Review a slide presentation

While presenting your data follow this
● Include a title, subtitle, and date
● Use a logical sequence of slides
● Provide an agenda with a timeline
● Limit the amount of text on slides. Your audience should be able to
scan each block of text on your slides within 5 seconds
 ● Start with the business task. Focus on the business task and frame
the information in the context of the business task.
● Establish the initial hypothesis
● Show what business metrics you used
● Use visualizations
● Introduce the graphic by name
● Provide a title for each graph
● Go from the general to the specific
● Use speaker notes to help you remember talking points
● Include key takeaways

Step-by-step critique of a presentation

● Messy example of a data presentation
● Good example of a data presentation

Messy data presentation

● No story or logical flow
● No titles
● Too much text
● Inconsistent format (no theme)
● No recommendation or conclusion at the end

Good data presentation

● Title and date the presentation was last updated
● Flow or table of contents
● Transition slides
● Visual introduction to the data (also used as a repeated theme)
● Animated bullet points
● Annotations on top of visuals
● Logic and progression
● Limitations to the data (caveats) - what the data can’t tell you
Identify presentation skills and practices

Self-Reflection: Examples of great presentations

The steps of the McCandless method include:

● Introduce the graphic by name

● Answer obvious questions before they’re asked
● State the insight of your graphic
● Call out data to support that insight
● Tell your audience why it matters

Examples of great spoken presentations

● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OTPJZnBP8s
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guXxy8LH2QM

Guide: Sharing data findings in presentations

Refer PDF
“M6_W2_Additional insights on selecting the right data visualization.pdf“

Learning Log: Evaluate your presentation

Revisit your presentation
● Re-record your presentation with the information you’ve learned
during this course. Keep it as concise as possible so you can
compare it to your previous version.
● Share the presentation with someone you know who might not be
familiar with data analysis. Keep them in mind while you record
 your presentation, as it should be as simple and accessible as
possible.
● Ask them for their feedback. Did they find it engaging? Did they
truly understand the concept that you explained?
● If it would be helpful to receive feedback in a formal way, print
out the checklist you used last time (provided below) and give it
to your audience.

Presentation Evaluation Checklist:

● Do I use an attention-grabbing opening?

● Do I start with broad ideas and later talk about specific details?
● Do I speak in short sentences?
● Do I pause for five seconds after showing a data visualization?
● Do I pause intentionally at certain points?
● Do I keep the pitch of my sentences level?
● Do I stand still and move with purpose?
● Do I have good posture?
● Do I look at my audience (or camera) while speaking?
● Do I keep my message concise?
● Do I end by explaining to my audience why the data analysis matters?

slide deck:

● Do I include a good title and subtitle that describe what I’m about to
present?
● Do I include the date of my presentation or the date when my
slideshow was last updated?
● Does my font size let the audience easily read my slides?
● Do I showcase what business metrics I used?
● Do I include effective visuals (like charts and graphs)?
Caveats and limitations to data

Preparing for the Q&A

Before the presentation

1. Assemble and prepare your questions.

2. Discuss your presentation with your manager, other analysts, or other
friendly contacts in your organization.
3. Ask a manager or other analysts what sort of questions were normally
asked by your specific audience in the past.
4. Seek comments, feedback, and questions on the deck or the document
of your analysis.
5. At least 24 hours ahead of the presentation, try and brainstorm tricky
questions or unclear parts you may come across- this helps avoid
surprises.
6. It never hurts to practice what you will be presenting, to account for
any missing information or simply to calm your nerves.

During the presentation

1. Be prepared to respond to the things that you find and effectively and
accurately explain your findings.
2. Address potential questions that may come up.
3. Avoid having a single question derail a presentation and propose
following-up offline.
4. Put supplementary visualizations and content in the appendix to help
answer questions.
Self-Reflection: Real-world objections
Responding to these questions and objections in a clear, concise, and polite
manner is crucial to delivering an effective presentation.
Examples of objections

Consider the following situations where a data analyst delivers a

presentation and receives an objection:

1. An analyst is presenting on the sales revenue of their company’s new

product: an autonomous vacuum cleaning robot. The analyst shows the
steps they took for each part of the analysis. They are confident that
they have explained each step very thoroughly, but a stakeholder is
confused when the presentation is over. They share a concern that the
analysis may be incomplete.
2. An analyst is presenting on the effectiveness of a new drug treatment
for heartburn. They use data from an external private company that
describes how common heartburn is in the United States. After the
presentation, they receive an objection from their stakeholder about
the data collected. The stakeholder is concerned that the source of
the data may not be reputable, and is unsure about the credentials of
the data’s source company.
3. An analyst is presenting on the traffic patterns of a particular
highway in their city. After extensive research and analysis, they
conclude that Friday is the busiest day for commuters on that
highway. One of the stakeholders, who commutes along that highway,
disagrees and believes that Monday is the busiest day for traffic.

Listen, respond, and include

● Listen, Respond and include for the stakeholders questions.
● Finally, ask for feedback to improve yourself.
 Quick Review
Week-1
How to put graphs
★ Venn diagram
★ Different types of plot
★ Different types of graphs
★ Correlation and causation
★ What graph have to use
★ The elements of art
★ Headings, Subtitles and labels

Week-2
★ Tableau
★ Rules for graphs
★ Multiple data set connections

Week-3
Tableau
Storytelling tips about the graph
★ What does the speaker do?
★ Whom and procedure or steps to tell story
Tableau dashboards
Share the findings
Week-4
★ How to tell the story using McCandless Method
★ Presentation skills
★ After storytelling the Questions arise for stakeholders, how to
clear it?
★ Checklists

➢Graph Preparations.

➢Narrate Story using the data.

➢Answering the questions after storytelling.

➢Check lists

Dhamodharan
25/10/2021