Where’s My Report; No seriously, where is it?
Originally published at www.linkedin.com.
When you hear words like report, dashboard, or executive summary what comes to mind? Based on my experience over the last decade, these words have become almost cliché and are used interchangeably to describe any sort of data related request.
How many of us have received a “report” that is little more than a table dumped egregiously onto an Excel spreadsheet. The necessary information may very well exist somewhere within the confines of the ten thousand record table that has been presented, but unless the client enjoys a rousing game of Where’s Waldo the important elements of the work may be lost.
In today’s fast paced environment, it is important that decision makers are empowered to make the best decisions based on accurate, timely, and well-constructed insights. Accuracy of reporting is vital (ask Enron), and timeliness of information is crucial to remain competitive.
The purpose of this post is to dive a little deeper into construction and presentation. For a moment let’s consider that the Excel table I mentioned earlier was both accurate and timely and that I was the one who prepared it. Awesome, go me! Now what? Now, the client gets to try to piece together a story based purely on the data that was vomited (I mean downloaded) onto the spreadsheet. Cycles are spent toiling through the information and decisions are made based on the client’s interpretation of my data.
By the way, if they happen to misinterpret something the blame is likely to be pointed back in my direction. It would be easy enough to argue that the data provided was accurate and audited, but ultimately how does that help the business? Also, if I’m being totally honest, isn’t it at least partially my fault. I am the one who works with and understands the data, so isn’t it incumbent on me to provide the data in the most useful, understandable, and easy to consume fashion? It was not by accident that I used the words “my data”.
Think about the last time you were in a restaurant and saw the waiter serve something that looked amazing to another table. The look and perhaps even the smell of it catches your attention and without ever tasting it you may decide to say, ‘Give me whatever that is’. That’s the power of presentation. Good reporting is about telling a story in a way that captivates the audience and allows their mind to consider the possibilities and ask the right questions. The presentation is what initially hooks the client, and the quality of the product (back to accuracy and timeliness) is what drives the story home.
There are numerous books dedicated to the subject of data visualization and many opinions on what makes for a good presentation. The purpose of this post is not to persuade you that any one approach is better than another. There are plenty of good references that can get you started if you’re feeling completely lost, but it is ultimately up to you to develop your own style and see what works well within your organization. Data extracts will always be useful for the organization, but think about the clients you’re serving. If the data is destined for an accounting or a data modeling team, the detail is probably more appreciated than if you’re serving a business manager who’s just trying to understand high level performance drivers.
To summarize; a data table placed on a spreadsheet does not a report make. If you’re calling it a report/dashboard/executive summary/whatever, take some time to be creative in your design. Tell a meaningful story and, for Pete’s sake, make it concise. By the way, if you’re still looking for Waldo, find the tent, and look about an inch to the left of it.
