Business Reporting, Visual Analytics & Dashboards

Business Reporting, Visual Analytics & Dashboards

1. Business Reporting

   • Purpose: To improve managerial decisions, Source: Data from inside and outside the org, Format: text+tables+graphs/charts
   • Types of Business reports
     • 1) Metric Management Reports
     • 2) Dashboard-Type Reports
     • 3) Balanced Scorecard-Type Reports

2. Data & Information Visualisation

   • The use of visual representations to explore, make sense of, and communicate data.

3. Performance Dashboards

   • Dashboard provides visual displays of important info that is consolidated and arranged on a single screen, so that info can be digested at a single glance and easily drilled in and further explored.
     • Types of Dashboards
       • 1) Dashboards for Strategic Purposes (Managing)
       • 3) Dashboards for Operational Purposes (Monitoring)
       • 2) Dashboards for Analytical Purposes (Analysis)
     • Limits of Short-Term Memory
       • Iconic memory (Preconscious), Short-term memory (Conscious), Long-term memory (Permanent)

4. Dashboard Design

   • Principles of DD
     • Include only info that is absolutely needed
     • Condense info in ways that doesn't decrease its meaning
     • Customise dashboard for the audience and objective
     • Display info using visual display mechanisms that can be easily read and understood.
   • Dashboard Components
     • Display media, Navigation and Container Components, Selector Components, Alerts

5. Dashboard Display Media

   • Graphs, Images, Icons, Drawing objects, Text, Organisers

6. Organise Info to support its meaning and use

   • Delineate groups using the least visible means; Support meaningful comparison; Maintain consistency for quick and accurate interpretation; Design for use as a launch pad; Test your design for usability

7. 6 Gestalt Principles of Visual Perception

   • Proximity, Closure, Similarity, Continuity, Enclosure, Connection

8. Key Goals & Steps of Visual Dashboard Design

   • 1) Reduce the non-data pixels
     • Eliminate all unnecessary non-data pixels, De-emphasise and regulise the non-data pixels that remain
   • 2) Enhance the data pixels
     • Eliminate all unnecessary data pixels, Highlight the most important data pixels that remain