Why is Data Visualization Important?
Summary
With the boom in data and data science, data visualization has become an increasingly more popular topic. This article is meant to give you a deeper understanding of the importance of data visualization, what are data visualization techniques, and what are the advantages of using data visualization in business.
What is Data Visualization?
Data visualization is the summarization of data in a way that makes the data more accessible for the user. This summarization is usually achieved with visual elements such as maps, infographics, charts and more. This summarization allows us to make sense of the ever-increasing mountain of data available to businesses.
Why is Data Visualization Important?
I hinted at the importance of data visualization in what is data visualization. The main reason data visualization is important is because it allows people to understand data more effectively. This comes down to how the human mind operates. People learn and communicate more easily through pictures. Just think about your experiences with data. Would you rather read through spreadsheet after spreadsheet of data or would you rather look at an infographic that summarizes the data using pictures and summary values.
What are the Advantages of Visualization?
Data visualization can be a boon for an organization’s decision making. The interactive visualizations can allow businesses to recognize patterns more quickly. Patterns represent business opportunities. Here are some specific ways data visualization can improve decision making.
Trends Over Time
Visualizing trends over time is one of if not the most important advantage of visualization. Knowing a number without the context of time is less valuable. For instance, if you know your cost is $100 is that good or bad, increasing or decreasing. The way you get that context is seeing your cost over time.Correlation
Data visualization allows you to see how two variables interact. By making sense that interaction we can better understand the data and make better business decisions.Quick Reaction
The ability to understand information quickly with data displayed clearly on a functional dashboard allows businesses to act swiftly avoid making mistakes.How Do You Create Data Visualizations?
Now that you know why you should care about data visualization the next step is how do you create data visualizations for your business. We at CDA like to use Tableau for data visualization. You can check out our Guide to Tableau article for some more insights on why. We also use the LIVEN approach to dashboarding which will help you build data visualizations that provide the most bang for the buck.If you want to have best in class dashboards that help your business reap the benefits of data visualization, make sure to contact us for a free consultation.