Tag: dashboarding

  • Recommended reading: How to convert complex data into a story

    The Analytics Communicator Analytics professionals need to be communicators. Just being technically proficient is longer enough. It is not enough to slap a report or dashboard together on the go. Rather, we have the responsibility to help the business get information out of their data. This is especially true as data volumes continue to grow.  I…

  • An Easter Egg hunt with three charts

    It’s that time of the year. Millions of kids are excited about hunting for Easter Eggs. Why not do the same here on the blog? Below are three charts. All of them are colored according to the season. But there are some problems with each one of the charts. Can spot them? Scroll down to…

  • Why stacked line charts are useful

    Stacked line charts Stacked line charts are a great and yet simple tool. Here is why. We often run into a situation where we need to analyze data with different units of measure. Think about  a classic but yet simple situation: Vital company data such as revenue, margin % and expenses is used to obtain…

  • Watch that chart aspect ratio!

    The chart aspect ratio The other day I reviewed a dashboard. It looked great. But there was a chart on the bottom that just did not make any sense. It was way too long and stretched out. As a result, it was very difficult to use it appropriately. And that reminded me: We have to…

  • Joining a Cognos user group is key! – An interview with Steve Veilleux

    Cognos User Groups are quickly gaining a lot of interest from IBM customers around the globe. These groups provide users with the ability to learn, to connect and to share experiences. A few weeks ago, I had the honor to meet with one of North America’s largest Cognos User Groups – the ‘Groupe d’utilisateurs Cognos…

  • Dashboarding – Insights from Mike Duncan – Part 2

    Each indicator must have a strong correlation to your ability to effect change In my last post I laid out 3 practical and compelling questions in developing your dashboarding program: How should my company be using a dashboard(s)? What is the basic process for choosing my KPI’s? What are some common mistakes I should avoid…

  • Dashboarding – Insights from Mike Duncan, Bizzeness -Part 1

    Your dashboard should provide the least amount of the most critical data In a previous post I discussed the art of dashboarding at a very fundamental level. That post sparked enough interest that I wanted to follow with more discussion about the practical aspects of dashboarding. Here are three of the most compelling practical questions…

  • Dashboarding – A great perspective

    Dashboarding remains one of the most important topics in the Business Analytics area. Most of my clients are actively working on deploying them. Back in January dashboarding was one of the key topics at the Gartner BI Summit. The broad interest in our dashboarding workshops further shows just how important this topic is for companies.…

  • What “Brain Rules” teaches us about Business Analytics

    The other day I took some time to review a few chapters of John Medina’s excellent book ‘Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School‘. It is a great read. There are a lot of interesting stories and insights that apply to various different aspects of our lives. One chapter…

  • Waterfall charts, pareto analysis and beyond

    Waterfall Charts? Do you like pies? I do! But not for analyzing data. Pie charts are just too busy and too hard to read in most situations. Yet they are the frequent tool of choice for visualizing the composition of a certain variable. Take a look at this example: I want to find out how…