Delegates at the upcoming 10th annual BI summit are in for a different type of hacking.
Andy Cotgreave, senior product evangelist at Tableau Software, will present on "The beautiful science of data visualisation", which he describes as "tech based on cognitive perceptual psychology". The ITWeb BI Summit 2015 will take place on 17 and 18 March.
"Visual analysis is not about throwing some charts on top of data. Our visual system (our eyes and brains) is amazingly powerful. We can immediately see tiny differences in, say, colour or length or shape. However, it's also easily flawed - think about all those optical illusions you saw as a child," says Cotgreave.
This is what he describes as "hacking the brain", adding that good data visualisation avoids this by displaying "data in a way that works with the strengths of your visual system and steers clear of the pitfalls".
The "science" in data visualisation is about neuroscience, he says. "Neuroscience: what does the brain do in response to certain visual stimuli? Empirical research: what kinds of charts are most effective at communicating different types of data? And about what kinds of attributes (for example, colour, shape, length) are most effective.
"Data visualisation is a significant field in academia. Tableau's research and development department is staffed by leaders in their field. They devote their time to building a product which is engaging to use, but also evolves to include the latest in scientific research. As the scientific understanding develops, so must all commercial products."
The three main elements required for successful data visualisation, says Cotgreave, include the end results answering the question the viewer is asking; doing this as quickly as possible; and being as free from clutter and decoration as possible.
"Seeing and understanding your data is an empowering activity for most business users," he adds.
The ITWeb BI Summit 2015 is packed with presentations by local and international subject matter experts, including several case studies from South African corporates. Get there to find out how to turn your BI insights into profits for your business.
Click here to register.
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