Learn how to effectively present, communicate and analyze your data. [+]
CGI is pleased to host one of the world’s foremost thought workshops in Data Visualization. Stephen Few has retired from teaching these courses, but has authorized Nick Desbarats to teach them in his place.
Nick Desbarats (The first and only educator to be authorized by Stephen Few)
For over 20 years, Nick Desbarats has been designing information displays that enable senior decision-makers to make better, more data-driven decisions based on potentially large amounts of data, and to do so in less time and with less effort. He has extensive knowledge of data visualization, dashboard design, cognition and cognitive biases, perception, memory and learning, software design and development, and product management.
As an independent data visualization educator and consultant, Nick has taught data visualization and information dashboard design to over 1,000 professionals in ten countries at organizations such as NASA, Bloomberg, The Central Bank of Tanzania, Northwestern Mutual, The United Nations, Marathon Oil and Teradata, among others. In 2014, Nick became the first and only educator to be authorized by Stephen Few to deliver his foundational data visualization and dashboard design workshops, and he's a contributor to Steve's widely read Perceptual Edge blog. Nick also frequently consults for large and mid-sized private, public and non-profit organizations, designing custom information dashboards for senior decision-makers and other roles. Nick's first book, Beyond Dashboards, will be published in 2019.
Show Me the Numbers (Day 1-2)
Detailed course description
Even very experienced business, financial and data analysts often create graphs that are hard to read, that don’t clearly communicate the graph creator’s point, insight or story, or that unintentionally leave audiences with an incorrect understanding of the underlying data. While the fundamental principles and best practices necessary to avoid these problems aren’t complex, they’re not intuitive either and need to be learned.
Designed by Stephen Few, updated by Nick Desbarats, and based on the foundational book of the same name, Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten equips participants with the best practices and fundamental principles that enable them to easily create tables and graphs that:
Are quick and easy for audiences to understand
Make key insights and stories within data clear and obvious
Minimize the risk that audiences will be left with an incorrect understanding of the underlying data or be uncertain of how to interpret the graph
Who should attend this workshop
Anyone who creates tables and graphs as a regular part of their work, including business and financial analysts, business intelligence and data analysts, executives, project managers, software developers, user experience designers, as well as human resources, marketing, sales, operations and finance professionals. Other professionals, such as researchers, journalists, health care professionals and educators will also benefit. No prior technical or data visualization knowledge is required. Experienced analysts will also benefit from the workshop since having deep data analysis expertise does not necessarily mean that an analyst has mastered the skills necessary to communicate data effectively to others.
Key topics
Determining when to present data as a table and when to present it as a graph
Selecting the most appropriate type of graph for various situations based on the nature of the underlying data and the message to be communicated, as well as the needs, role, and level of sophistication of the audience
Making visual design choices that make graphs easier to visually process, such as minimizing visual “noise” and designing visualizations with strong visual hierarchies
Avoiding common graph design mistakes such as choosing inappropriate quantitative scales and misusing color
Designing tables for easy visual consumption
Handling common data visualization challenges such as visualizing missing data, data that spans a very wide range, and large numbers of values
Techniques for making the key insights and stories within visualizations more obvious to audiences
Topics not covered
This is not a graphic design course. The emphasis is on designing highly functional tables and graphs for audiences that are clear, useful, and easy to read, and that are unlikely to be misinterpreted. The course does not address creating graphs that are artistically beautiful or eye-catching (but often less functional).
This is not a software product training course. The fundamental principles and best practices of good data visualization design all apply when creating visualizations using any modern data visualization software product.
This course does not teach participants how to create complex, esoteric chart types. Simple, familiar graphs are almost always the most effective choices for the day-to-day visualization needs of most organizations.
Workshop format
The workshop consists of engaging, interactive presentation segments that feature real-world and fictional graph examples, interleaved with eight group exercises and discussions. Best practices are demonstrated, not just stated, so that audiences understand not just what the best practices are, but also why they yield visualizations that are clearer and easier for audiences to understand. No computers or software are used. The workshop is two days in length with morning, lunch and afternoon breaks. At the end of the workshop, each participant receives a copy of Stephen Few’s book, Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, on which the workshop is based.
Information Dashboard Design (Day 3)
Detailed course description
Many information dashboards fail to satisfy those who use them and often end up under-used or abandoned after just a few months. This is a sad reality indeed since dashboards have the potential to significantly improve the effectiveness of users and save them a great deal of time.
Based on Stephen Few’s foundational book and updated by Nick Desbarats, Information Dashboard Design: Displaying Data for At-a-Glance Monitoring equips workshop participants with the fundamental principles and best practices that enable them to design information dashboards that:
Can be reviewed by users quickly and without forcing them to click through filters and selectors that erode productivity and long-term dashboard traction.
Make problems and opportunities within the organization “pop” so that they get noticed.
Enable users to see potentially causal relationships between metrics to help determine why a problem has occurred and how to respond to it.
Who should take this course
Anyone who is responsible for creating information dashboards for users within or outside of their organization. Workshop participants may be software developers, user interface designers, business intelligence professionals, data analysts or have other, similar roles. Executives or others who consume dashboards will also find the workshop to be of value since it will enable them to ask for dashboard designs that help them to be more effective at their jobs. Those who are or will be engaged in a dashboard development product evaluation process will find this course to be of particular value.
Key topics
The definition of what a dashboard is (and isn’t), and what a dashboard should do as opposed what should be left to other types of information displays
Effective dashboard organization and layout practices that enable rapid visual scanning, with examples of well-designed dashboards
Compact information display techniques that enable large numbers of metrics to be shown on a single screen
Graph types that work well on dashboards and those that don’t
The importance of displaying contextual values such as targets, historical averages, and the like alongside current values to highlight metrics that require attention
Steps in the dashboard design process
13 common dashboard design mistakes and how to avoid them
Topics not covered
This is not a software product training course. The fundamental principles and best practices of good dashboard design apply when creating dashboards using any modern dashboard development technology.
The emphasis is on creating highly functional information dashboards and not on creating visually impressive or highly interactive (but often less useful) information displays.
Workshop format
Workshops consists of engaging, interactive presentation segments that feature real-world dashboard examples and a group exercise wherein participants apply recently learned skills by critiquing several real dashboards. Best practices are demonstrated, not just stated, so that participants understand not just what the best practices are but also why they yield dashboards that are genuinely more useful and that deliver more value to organizations. No computers or software are used. Workshops last one full day with morning, lunch and afternoon breaks. At the end of the workshop, each participant receives a copy of Stephen Few’s book, Information Dashboard Design: Displaying data for at-a-glance monitoring, on which the workshop is based.
Testimonials
When decisions have major consequences, clarity matters a lot. During my time as the Manager of Contractor Support for NASA’s Flight Safety Office, Nick's workshops were instrumental in helping us learn how to use visual design to bring clarity to our graphs, tables, reports, and, ultimately, to NASA’s decisional options. The combination of Stephen Few’s inspired material and Nick’s dynamic teaching style worked for us. It will work for your organization too.
- Bill Wood, STAR Group Solutions, LLC (formerly Manager of Contractor Support, NASA Flight Safety Office)
"Nick is an engaging presenter and made data visualization fun to learn. The knowledge that he shared has been integral to our efforts to standardize our dashboards and other reporting and we're already planning to bring this invaluable training to a wider internal audience."
- Katie Grotenhuis, Enterprise Technology Innovation Manager, WPS Health Solutions
Price
18.300,- NOK (16.300,- for signups before February 28 2020)
Before February 28. Groups (3+) will receivee 15% discount on the regulat price.
Cancellation Policy
Cancellations must be received in writing at least 4 weeks before the commencement of the seminar and will be subject to a 10% administration fee. Unfortunately, cancellations received within 4 weeks of the seminar date will be liable for the full seminar fee. Change of participants can be made at any time.
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