BITS ZC420

Data Visualization
BITS Pilani Amit Kumar
Pilani Campus
 BITS Pilani
Pilani Campus

Data Visualization
Course Introduction
Course Design

Course Objectives

The course aims at understanding

 Concepts for designing effective data visualization
 Best Practices of Dashboard Design
 Data Visualization using Tableau
 Data Visualization using Python (Bokeh/Matplotlib/Seaborn)

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Course Design (cont…)

Learning Outcomes

 Concepts and best practices of Data Visualization

 Best practices of Information Dashboard Design
 Data Visualization using Tableau
 Data Visualization using Python (Bokeh/Matplotlib/Seaborn)

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Course Design (cont…)

Textbooks
 Storytelling with Data, A data visualization guide for business professionals,
by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic; Wiley
 Information Dashboard Design: Displaying data for at-a-glance monitoring,
by Stephen Few, second edition
 Tableau Your Data: Fast and Easy Visual Analysis with Tableau Software,
by Daniel G Murray
 Hands on Data Visualization with Bokeh: Interactive web plotting for Python using
Bokeh, by Kevin Jolly
 Matplotlib for Python Developers: Effective techniques for data visualization with
Python, by Aldrin Yim, Claire Chung and Allen Yu

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Course Design (cont…)

Reference Books

 Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables & Graphs to Enlighten,

By Stephen Few
 Visualize This: The FlowingData Guide to Design, Visualization & Statistics,
By Nathan Yau, Wiley
 Mastering Tableau, by David Baldwin

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Course Design (cont…)

Modular Structure

M1 Data Visualizations and Practices

M2 Effective Dashboard Design
M3 Online Data Visualization Tools
M4 Data Visualization with Tableau
M5 Data Visualization with Python – 1 (Matplotlib)
M6 Data Visualization with Python – 2 (Bokeh, Seaborn)

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Course Design (cont…)

Evaluation Scheme
Name Mode Duration Weight
EC1 Assignment1 Online - 15%
EC1 Assignment 2 Online - 15%
EC2 Midsem Closed 2 hours 30%
Book
EC3 Comprehensive Open Book 3 hours 40%

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Course Handout

Course Handout Microsoft Word

Document

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Data Visualization

What?
Graphical / Visual representation of data

Why?
 Way to identify patterns, trends and outliers in data
 Helps is making data-driven decisions

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Purpose

“The purpose of visualization is insight, not just picture.”

Data visualization pioneer, Ben Shneiderman

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Purpose(cont..)

Visualization goals

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Purpose (cont…)

Visual Processing

 30-60% of Human Brains capacity is used for visual

processing
 Processes 10 million bits per second
 Fastest mode of processing

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Purpose (cont…)

Citizen Data Scientists

 Required skill set in data driven world

 Modern world needs both technical analysis and
creative storytelling
 Data visualization sits exactly in middle of both
 Increasingly valuable assets

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Definition

“Data visualization is the use of visual representations to

explore, make sense of, and communicate data.”

Data visualization expert, Stephen Few

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Data Representations

Types of Data Representations

 Presentation
 Visualization

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Data Representations (cont…)

Presentations

 Uses data visuals to communicate

 Two roles : Presenter and Audience
 Communicate and Persuade

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Data Representations (cont…)

Visualizations

 New term
 Use visuals to think
 Involves people trying to answer questions

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Data Visualization Types

Based on interactivity

 Static
 Dynamic / Interactive

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Data Visualization Types
(cont…)

Static Visualizations

 Used in presentations, documents etc.

 Requires careful design as its meant for offline
viewing
 User can not adjust the views

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Data Visualization Types
(cont…)

Interactive Visualizations

 Used for exploratory data analysis

 Meant for live/online interactions
 Has more viewing options
 User gains more control over the display

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Usage of Data Visualization

Exploratory Analysis

 Explore data to become familiar with data

 Dig through the data
 Find trends and relationships w.r.t. specific goals
 Helps determine analyses to apply to data

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Usage of Data Visualization
(cont…)

Explanatory Analysis

 Explain outcomes or results of analysis

 Tell a story with data

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References

 Why do we visualize quantitative data? 

https://www.perceptualedge.com/blog/?p=1897

 https://www.tableau.com/learn/articles/data-visualization

 https://www.tableau.com/sites/default/files/media/designing-great-vi
sualizations.pdf

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Showing Popular songs

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Showing Popular song

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Agenda


 Understanding the context
 Effective storytelling strategies

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Visualization Context

“Success in data visualization does not start with data

visualization itself.”
-- Cole Knaflic

…understanding context sets solid foundation for

data visualization creation

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Visualization Context (cont…)

Context includes :

 Who
To whom you are communicating?

 What
What do you want your audience to know or to do?

 How
How can you use data to help make your point?

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Identifying Audience

Who?

 Who is audience? To whom you are

communicating?
 How they perceive you?

 Help to find common ground that helps to convey

your message

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Identifying Audience (cont…)

Who?

 Your audience
 Knowing them place you in better position for communication
 Be specific while identifying audience
 Different content for different set of audience

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Identifying Audience (cont…)

Who?

 You
 How your audience perceive you?
 First time interaction or established relationship?
 Know you as expert or need to set credibility?

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Know or Act

What?

 What do you want your audience to know or to

do?
 Action
 Mechanism
 Tone

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Know or Act (cont…)

What?

 Action
 Make sure audience care about what you say
 You are subject matter expert
unique position to interpret the data and help lead people to
understanding and take action
 If no action recommendation possible / feasible, then
encourage discussion towards one

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Know or Act (cont…)

What?

 Mechanism
 How will you communicate to your audience?
 Determines level of control and level of detail
 Live presentation
 Written document
 Slideument

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Know or Act (cont…)

What? Mechanism

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Know or Act (cont…)

What?

 Tone
 What tone do you want your communication to
set?
 Celebrating success?
 Lighting a fire to drive action?
 Is topic light-hearted or serious?

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Data

How?

 How can you use data to help make your point?

 What data is available?
 Supporting evidence of the story

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Context by Example

You are advertising media analyst made responsible for

providing recommendation on media spend of product

 Who : The marketing team that allocates funding for media

advertisement for a product

 What : The current advertising campaign went well on TV but find

very limited success in print media

 How : Illustrate success with data available

through analysis of spends and product revenues

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Context Pondering Questions

About

 Essential background information's relevance

 Audience , decision makers
 Audience biases – supportive or resistive?
 Data , audience familiarity with data
 Risk factors
 Successful outcome
 Expectation from you, time available for you

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Storytelling Strategies

Concepts for successful storytelling activity

 The 3-minute Story

 Big Idea
 Storyboarding

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Storytelling Strategies(cont…)

“ I would have written a shoter letter, but I did not have

the time.”
-- Blaise Pascal

…boil the overall communication to the single paragraph

or to the single, most important message

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Storytelling Strategies(cont…)

3-minute story

 Within 3 minutes you had to tell audience, what they need to know
 Removes dependence from supporting material like visuals ,
presentations etc.
 Need to know exactly what data is saying
 Being concise is more challenging than being verbose

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Storytelling Strategies(cont…)

Big Idea

 Boils down to a single most important sentence

 Per Nancy Durate (in book Resonate)
 It must articulate your unique point of view
 It must convey what’s at stake
 It must be complete sentence

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Storytelling Strategies(cont…)

Storyboarding

 Establishes structure of communication

 Visual outline of content
 Advice :
 Avoid using presentation software in beginning
 Use whiteboard, post-it notes, paper

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Visualization Context

Storyboarding example

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Recap

 Establishing context
 Who
• Audience and You
 What
• Action, Mechanism, Tone
 How
• Data

 Story telling strategies

 The 3-minute story
 Big Idea
 Storyboarding

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References

 Knaflic, Cole. Storytelling With Data: A Data

Visualization Guide for Business Professionals,
Wiley, © 2015
 Chapter 1 : The importance of context

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Thank You!

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