Generasi GIGIH Weekly Reflection | Part 5
Can’t believe we are already in August, 4 months left before 2022! I hope you are all doing well during these PPKM days!
In this article, I want to share what I have learned at Generasi GIGIH, especially about data visualization.
Data visualization has a very important role to convey data-based information that can be understood by the audience. By using visual elements such as charts, graphs, and maps, we can make it easier for people to understand a trend or information precisely and accurately.
But, have you ever seen a visualization like this?
As you can imagine, it is difficult to get information from that pie visualization. But still many people think “the more data visualized, the better” or “the more crowded, the more good we are in analyzing data”. In short, it is wrong, there are many things to consider when doing visualization.
Remember, the main goal is to make people understand, not to be confused.
1 | One thing I found interesting from last week’s material was golden rules in data visualization
In data visualization, there are some rules that become a reference for authors to be able to present good visualizations. There are four main stages that must be carried out in this golden rule.
- Define the Story: We must know what kind of information we want to give to the audience. And always remember that “less is more”. Focus on what is really needed and relevant to the audience.
- Define the Audience: Audiences have different preferences in how they read a given visualization. By knowing who the audience will be reading the report, we can determine the composition of the text and graphics used.
- Define the Data: This is a guide when we should take the average, when to use the total value, or max-min to see a trend in the data.
- Choose the Best Chart “to Represent Story”: When I say the best chart, it’s not about how cool the chart is displayed, but how efficient and effective the chart is in explaining information to the audience.
2 | Another tip to perform good visualization is to make a mockup dashboard
Just like before building a house, there must be an architectural design, as well as data visualization. We must make a visualization plan before actually compiling the final one.
The goal is to make it easier for us to analyze, which parts are necessary and which parts do not need to be displayed in the visualization.
Dashboard Design Best practices:
- Think of the takeaways from each predetermined story (what to analyze)
- Determine the position and composition as the flow of the information you want to show
- Make sure information is presented consistently both from language and use of color schemes
The following is a mockup design process that I have made vs the final design after discussing it with my group.
The point is there will definitely be changes but it’s all part of the process to make the visualization even better and in accordance with the needs to be conveyed. Special thanks to my teammates Putri, Inas, Ratih!
This week has been a pretty tough week for me, even though it’s still at the beginning of the month. There are quite a number of agendas that coincide at the same time which indirectly breaks the focus in learning. At times I feel like I can’t work efficiently because there’s too much work to do.
Through the previous article, I have discussed Pinball Syndrome, and it is quite an important reflection material for me. Especially in setting priorities.
How can I keep myself motivated in the midst of busyness and fatigue during this WFH? I will quote a talk from Kotakode which discusses the growth mindset for programmers…
“It’s important to work smart and work hard. But nowadays everyone is smart, access to learning is everywhere. Everyone steals ideas from everyone, the thing that makes the difference is, whoever works harder will be the winner. As long as we are young, don’t be afraid to live hard. Don’t overestimate smart work because everyone is smart”.
Thanks to those of you who have read up to here! I will try to share the knowledge that I got from this program here, if you want to know more, stay tuned!
Until then, take care of yourself, stay safe! And never stop learning! — Giodio Mitaart
