Learn how to effectively present, communicate and analyze your data. [+]
OBS. The workshop 26-28 of March is now closed for registration. Please contact peter.stromberg@cgi.com for questions.
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. At Stratos – “The Roof of Oslo,” Nick will take you through a three day workshop based on Stephen Few’s bestselling books.”
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.
Now You See It (Day 3)
While many people assume that data analysis requires advanced statistical knowledge, the reality is that 90% of day-to-day analytical needs that arise in organizations can be met using simple, visual techniques.
Designed by Stephen Few, updated by Nick Desbarats, and based on the book of the same name, Now You See It equips workshop participants with the skills needed to explore data to discover valuable new insights and answer the most common types of analytical questions using simple yet powerful graph types and data visualization techniques.
Who should attend this workshop
Anyone who is –or would like to be– responsible for making sense of data, finding useful insights and meaning within it, and quickly answering the most common types of analytical questions that arise within organizations. While business, financial and data analysts obviously fall within this group, workshop participants often include people from all parts of the organization, including finance, marketing, sales, human resources and operations. Other professionals, such as researchers, journalists, health care providers and educators will also benefit.
No special knowledge or skills are required in order to attend this workshop, although participants should have experience creating simple charts using popular data visualization software products.
Key topics
Fundamentals of visual perception and how they apply to visual data analysis
Desirable personality traits, knowledge and skills to bring to analysis tasks
Visual patterns in data that are often meaningful
Simple yet powerful graph types and visual techniques for performing the most common types of data analysis:
Time series
Distribution
Geospatial
Correlation
Ranking and part-to-whole
Multivariate
The analytical navigation process and the important role of interactivity
Critical contributions from the research community
Topics not covered
This is not a software product training course. The techniques taught can used with most major, modern visual data analysis software products.
While some basic statistical concepts are covered, this is not a course on statistics.
Statistical methods and other non-visual data analysis techniques are not discussed.
Workshop format
The workshop consists of engaging, interactive presentation segments that feature realistic scenarios, as well as a group exercise wherein participants apply recently learned skills by identifying how different views of the same data can answer different analytical questions. No computers or software are used. The workshop lasts 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, Now You See It: Simple Visualization Techniques for Quantitative Analysis, 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
Cancellation Policy
This workshop is now confirmed
Cancellations received after confirmation will be liable for the full workshop fee. Substitutions can be made at any time.
OM CGI
CGI Group Inc. ble grunnlagt i 1976 og er verdens femte største uavhengige leverandør av tjenester innen IT- og forretningsprosesser. Med 74 000 medarbeidere over hele verden, leverer CGI en portefølje av ende-til-ende løsninger innen avanserte IT- og forretningskonsulenttjenester, systemintegrasjon og utsetting av IT- og forretningsprosesser. CGIs modell med kundenærhet, et globalt leveransenettverk og egne løsninger bidrar til at kundene hurtigere oppnår resultater og bidrar til deres digitale transformasjon. CGI har en samlet årlig omsetning på over 60 milliarder NOK. CGI-aksjene er notert på TSX (GIB.A) og NYSE (GIB). Hjemmeside: www.cginorge.no
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