More and more, organizations are on board with the idea of becoming ādata-driven.ā Collecting data on key indicators is a big step ahead from where many organizations used to be. But being able to interpret that data and share it with others in an intelligent way is equally as important…
Presenting data effectively changes the kinds of conversations that can happen inside organizations. Better presentations shape an improved culture of decision-making. Let me tell you about a recent example of this. Late 2012 I got a call from an evaluation officer who was working at the Walton Family…
Few things scream āI didnāt try very hardā more than using the Excel default color schemes. Good news is that changing them up isnāt really very hard at all. First, decide what other colors you would like. Maybe pick something from your organizational brand. I used ColorBrewer to come…
Itās time to ditch the legend. You know ā the legend, the key, the thing near-ish the graph that tells the reader what each piece of your graph means. We donāt need it. Legends are actually hard for many people to work with because they put…
Man, do researchers love Likert-type data! You know what I mean – the kind of survey response options that range from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree (or vice versa, depending on your allegiances). Probably the most common way of visualizing that data is via a stacked bar chart, just like…
UPDATE: This post was written in 2014 and my thinking has evolved since then. Here’s the newest post on how to handle all of your axes. You can also join us at the Evergreen Data Visualization Academy where we banter back and forth about these ideas and apply…
Are you making graphs that look like this crap? I won’t make you raise your hand. But let’s just agree not to do this, yeah? It’s SUPER hard to compare the tops of a bunch of bars. Two side by side bars per region ain’t so bad but beyond…
There are lots of ways to make bullet charts, some easier than others, some better suited for specific visualization contexts. Hell, there are plug-ins you can purchase that make it a snap. Except when my plug-in broke and I had to remake about a…
Hi there! Iām Angie Ficek and Iām a program evaluator at a small evaluation consulting firm called Professional Data Analysts, Inc. (PDA) in Minneapolis, MN. In a previous post, Stephanie wrote about adding standard deviations to a dataviz. I responded to her post with an example of…
This simple line packs so much power. Adding a benchmarkĀ line to a graph gives loads of context for the viewer. Here’s how to makeĀ one right inside Excel. It’s so easy you might pass out. My data table looks like this: I have my data and I have the benchmark…
