Tree Maps and Tableau

I'm beginning to become a big fan of the tree map.  It is very useful to see where business is coming from.  One of the cool features in Tableau is the user can bring dates to a row and then the tree maps also act as a bar chart comparing where the business is coming from YOY.  

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Sample Tree Map from Tableau

As you can see above I can tell 2007 was my best total sales year with declining sales throughout the years.  The decline was primarily driven by Office Machines as the size of that box never returned to its largest total in 2007.  

I can see myself using this for many different dashboards and analysis in the future.  Maybe I may even use bubbles. 

Is Data Visualization Actionable?

Although data visualization has produced some of the most captivating artistic displays in recent memory, some of which have found their way into exhibits at the New York Museum of Modern Art and countless art installations around the world, business leaders are asking: is data visualization actionable?

I believe for the most part, the answer is yes.  Data visualization tells a compelling story which allows the consumer of the data to see patterns that are missed in analyzing the numbers.  Even when visualization cannot tell the whole story, they are able to point you in a direction that will save countless hours as they give a great starting point.  

The other side effect of visualization is it engages executives.  Executives love pretty pictures and stories without having to dig through multiple pages or large spreadsheets of numbers.  Dashboards are all the rage, but the visualization tells a story that executives can appreciate. 

Keep Up with Your Quants - Harvard Business Review

Very good article about using data to make decisions and communicate results.  

having big data—and even people who can manipulate it successfully—is not enough. Companies need general managers who can partner effectively with “quants” to ensure that their work yields better strategic and tactical decisions.

Often times analysts struggle to communicate their findings in a way the organization understands.  Finding a common ground makes for a great combination. 

We all know how easily “figures lie and liars figure.” Analytics consumers should never pressure their producers with comments like “See if you can find some evidence in the data to support my idea.” Instead, your explicit goal should be to find the truth.

How many times I have heard this in my career?  Quite a few times.  As data consumers, we can't be afraid of being wrong or showing that a decision we have made lost money.  That happens.  Always strive for the truth.  It is much better to improve results then to take a hit to your ego.

The rest of the article is a great read on how to better receive analytics.   Being someone who can take analytics and turn data into money is what separates the men from the boys.