Field of Reporting Dreams: Build it and users will come?

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Field of Reporting Dreams

How data visualization can give you an

extra edge in bringing and maintaining

happy users

Iain Curtain

Edgewater Ranzal

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Agenda

• Introduction

• Reporting systems

• Understanding the customer

• Usability

• What makes good design

• Summary and examples

• Questions

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About Ranzal

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Customer Sample

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If you build it, will users come?

• It depends

• It depends

• It depends Property of Edgewater R

anzal

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Reporting Systems

• Resistance To Change

• Departmental Silos

• Politics over ownership

• Excel based

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Organization Maturity

Foundation

Operations

Mgmt Reports

Dashboards

Scorecards

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Organization Maturity

Area 1 Area 2 Area 3

Maintain

current

business

operations

Areas

to

grow

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User Requirements

• Talk to users

• Listen to users

• Ask why, why, why? Property of Edgewater Ranzal

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Usability

• How do users use the system

• How do they navigate

• Watch and learn Property of Edgewater Ranzal

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Usability

• How do users use the system

• How do they navigate

• Watch and learn Property of Edgewater Ranzal

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Design Examples

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Design Examples

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Design Examples

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Design Examples

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Good design concepts

• Memory limits

• Encoding data for rapid perception

• Gestalt principles of perception Property of Edgewater Ranzal

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Memory Limits

• Iconic memory

• Short term memory

• Long term memory Property of Edgewater Ranzal

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Data Encoding

172395769402639802738495601

298474369708987264347867923

039200492897654810298607982

725802974164783970698739405

886985726327189606972914069

87125627837895

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Data Encoding

172395769402639802738495601

298474369708987264347867923

039200492897654810298607982

725802974164783970698739405

886985726327189606972914069

87125627837895

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Gestalt Principles

• Proximity

• Similarity

• Enclosure

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Gestalt Principles

• Closure

• Continuity

• Connection

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Applying concepts

• Focus on the value add you are showing

by organising and minimising the data

shown.

• Arrange information in a way that makes

sense, making sure that the important

data stands out.

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Edward R Tufte

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Data Ink Ratio

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Chart Junk

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Chart Junk

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Chart Junk

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Chart Junk

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Chart Junk

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“We can easily see patterns

presented in certain ways, but if

they are presented in other

ways they become invisible.”

Colin Ware

Information Visualization -

Perception for Design, 2000

Colin Ware

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“…at any given instant, we

apprehend only a tiny amount

of the information in our

surroundings …”

Colin Ware

Visual Thinking for Design,

2008

Colin Ware

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Colin Ware

• Color

• Form

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Colin Ware

• Position

• Motion

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Stephen Few

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Stephen Few

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How does this help us?

• Simplify

• Simplify

• Simplify

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Examples

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Examples

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Design Examples

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“Graphical excellence is that which

gives the viewer the greatest

number of ideas in the shortest time,

with the least ink in the smallest

space.”

Edward R Tufte

The Visual Display of

Quantitative Information, 1983

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Iain Curtain

Senior Consultant

icurtain@ranzal.com

202 683 0874

ranzal.com

thinsliced.wordpress.com

ranzal.wordpress.com/

Questions

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More Info

• Usability

http://uxmag.com/

• Stephen Few http://www.perceptualedge.com/

• Edward Tufte http://www.edwardtufte.com

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