Visualization: Understated or Overrated?
According to a definition from Wikipedia, information visualization is a study of (interactive) visual representations of abstract data to reinforce human cognition; and we all know that visual data representations are well-suited for work management and for business intelligence purposes since — not to get into too much detail — the visuals save time that would otherwise be spent on retrieving the same info from tables and non-visual reports. Visualizations allow to get a general overview as fast as possible (note, that “general” is the keyword here), and that’s why they are indispensable.
Visualization Understated
With so much value hiding in there, people might still underestimate the power of visualized data, not caring if the info is retrieved quickly or slowly. Some might even skip on the visuals altogether if they look too complicated. Or, if certain competencies are required to use them. Take a look at this chart, for instance:
You will want to have some knowledge of lean methodology to be able to get the best of it — or take some time to read what it’s about. Once you get the meaning and the value of this chart, it might become a handy instrument for measuring your projects’ health. This is just one example.
So, to be able to take advantage of what visualization brings to the table, we will want to educate ourselves. Besides, infoviz visuals often come with a legend, and reading the legend can be enough.
Visualization Overrated
When is it overrated? Shortly, when it’s visualization just for the sake of visualization. Yes, visuals can be beautiful on their own, and visualization can be regarded as a special brand of fine arts. But “visualization” is not the same as “painting”. It’s a pragmatic technique aimed at helping people get information and solve problems, and it has its limits. Just a reminder, I’m talking about data visualization here, not about visual storytelling, and data visualizations provide “a general overview”, mostly. I might be mistaken but that’s an impression that I get looking at most data visuals.
There are 2 scenarios:
1. An overview provided by a visual is enough to solve the problem:
Look at a visual -> Identify the problem -> Solve it
2. An overview provided by a visual is not enough to solve the problem:
Look at a visual -> Identify the problem -> Get more info -> Solve the problem
The catch is in the 2nd scenario, and in the “Get more info” part. A visual can fault here. You might need to get hold of more reports, more sources, talk to people, etc. to get to the roots of the problem. That’s where we risk to overrate a data visual, as it is not meant to carry us as deep as to the Earth’s core. Well, if a data visual comes as a part of a BI tools suite, for instance, quick links from the visual to getting more data can help. But you never know. “Get more info” is not always about looking at the stats. It often implies talking to people. Unfortunately (or fortunately) data visualization can’t help here. Probably, if each and every problem could be helped by looking at visuals and at data, people would cease talking with each other… Ugh… What a dystopian picture. Must be, a sizzlingly hot weather is getting at me this Friday …
Related:
When To Visualize Numbers and When Not To
Visualization: Why The Fusion of Art and Tech Matters
Further reading:
This article is based on an earlier story.
