| This article will provide a top-level overview of data | | | | to technological methods of gathering, manipulating and |
| visualization, and is divided into the following sections: | | | | then analyzing business data. The "stack" refers to the |
| | | | following components used to accomplish these |
| 1. Definition of data visualization. | | | | objectives: |
| 2. Purpose of data visualization. | | | | Presentation Layer: |
| 3. The role of data visualization within the business | | | | Consists of various methods used to display data to |
| intelligence stack. | | | | the end user. |
| Definition of Data Visualization: | | | | - Data visualization tools and elements include: |
| The term "data visualization" is self-descriptive, in that it | | | | - Performance dashboards. |
| literally means the visualization of data. Information is | | | | - Digital scorecards. |
| displayed in a clear, graphical manner to a user, who | | | | - Charts, graphs and gauges. |
| can then assimilate and interpret that data quickly. Of | | | | Analytics Layer: |
| course, how efficient this interpretation occurs depends | | | | The analytics layer is where the data is massaged |
| on how well the data has been analyzed and then | | | | and manipulated into a format that can be meaningfully |
| visualized. | | | | displayed and analyzed visually. |
| Purpose of Data Visualization: | | | | - Aspects of this layer include predictive analysis, data |
| The purpose of data visualization is to communicate | | | | mining, KPI (key performance indicator) creation as well |
| information in a clear, concise, graphical manner to an | | | | as third-party BI tools. |
| intended audience. | | | | Data Layer: |
| Almost all companies deal with a huge amount of raw | | | | The data layer is comprised of all sources that contain |
| data, and making intelligent business decisions depends | | | | the data being analyzed. - |
| on how well a company analyzes and interprets that | | | | Data often comes from OLAP, MS SQL, MySQL and |
| data. It is possible to examine that data in a textual | | | | Oracle databases, and even from spreadsheets such |
| format such as tables and spreadsheets; however, this | | | | as Microsoft Excel. |
| tends to be overwhelming to the analyst, as well as | | | | From the information above you can see that data |
| difficult to interpret. Key trends may not be identified, | | | | visualization is at the top of the BI stack. It should be |
| resulting in the making of poor business decisions. | | | | noted that all three layers are critical when it comes to |
| This is where the visualization of data comes to the | | | | making good decisions utilizing business intelligence. |
| rescue: large amounts of data can be displayed (via | | | | Presenting a well-designed dashboard to end users is |
| dashboards, scorecards, charts, dials, maps, gauges, | | | | of little value if the data it is displaying is poorly |
| graphs and other visual elements) and almost | | | | organized. Conversely, looking at a poorly designed |
| instantaneously absorbed by the user. Key trends can | | | | dashboard is of little use even if the data it is displaying |
| be quickly identified, thereby resulting in intelligent | | | | has been well mined and organized. |
| business decisions. | | | | In conclusion, the visualization of data is extremely |
| The old maxim "a picture is worth a thousand words" | | | | important when making intelligent business decisions. |
| says it all! | | | | When properly done, mass amounts of data can be |
| The Business Intelligence Stack and Data Visualization: | | | | analyzed and interpreted quickly and efficiently, which |
| Data visualization is actually one component of the | | | | is a good thing when it comes to any sort of company |
| "business intelligence stack." Business intelligence refers | | | | management! |