Big data. Social data. How about just data? Everything is measurable, how are you best using this information to better inform your business decisions? And dump the excel charts, lets make these important measurements beautiful! To learn more about the Insight Summit Series please visit http://www.insightsummitseries.com

1. from Big Data
to Big Understanding
Big Data & Data Visualizations

2. Big Data

3. Big Data

4. Big Data != Lots of Data
THE THREE V'S
Volume
Velocity
Variety

5. Big Data

6. Big Data != Lots of Data
THE THREE V'S
Volume
- OK, Big Data = Lots of Data (sometimes)
- No objective size at which this is a problem

7. Big Data != Lots of Data
THE THREE V'S
Velocity
- Real-Time?
- TPM (Tweets Per Minute)

8. Big Data != Lots of Data
THE THREE V'S
Variety
- Data coming in from a variety of sources
- Internal, External
- Different Formats

9. Data Visualization
Why should we be interested in visualization? Because the
human visual system is a pattern seeker of enormous power
and subtlety. The eye and the visual cortex of the brain form
a massively parallel processor that provides the highest-
bandwidth channel into human cognitive centers. At higher
levels of processing, perception and cognition are closely
interrelated, which is the reason why the words
“understanding” and “seeing” are synonymous.
- Colin Ware, 2000

10. Visualization Defined
"the use of interactive visual representations of
abstract data to amplify cognition" - Colin Ware,
2004
"the use of computer-supported, interactive, visual
representations of abstract data to amplify
cognition" -Ben Schneiderman , U of Maryland,
1999

11. Big Data & Visualization – Use Caution
“Unquestioning empiricists” - trust analysis over judgment
“visceral decision makers” - go exclusively with their gut
“Informed skeptics”—the employees best equipped to make
good decisions—effectively balance judgment and analysis,
possess strong analytic skills, and listen to others’ opinions
but are willing to dissent. They’re the kind of data-savvy
workers every company should try to cultivate. However, we
found that only 38% of employees, and 50% of senior
managers, fall into this group.
- Shvetank Shah, Andrew Horne, and Jaime Capellá for Harvard Business Review

12. Big Data Visualization
Volume: How do we visualize all this data?
Schniederman's Mantra:
"Overview First, Zoom & Filter,
then Details-on-Demand“
e.g. http://internet-map.net/

13. Big Data Visualization
Velocity: How do we deliver changing data?
Real-Time Visualization
http://tweetping.net/
Dashboards
http://chartbeat.com/demo/

14. Big Data Visualization
Variety: How do we deal with all these dimensions?
Multivariate Visualization
- encode as much as possible: placement, size,
color, shape, direction
- use the right chart: some chart types (parallel
coordinates) are naturally suited for multivariate
visualization
- don't forget small multiples - sometimes the best
chart is more charts

15. Big Data Visualization - Variety
Interactivity & Dashboards
http://pmbi4.cldpromorphics.com:8080/dashboards/DashboardPortal1.htm
Visualizations as Portals
http://clearcongressproject.com/
Metrics != Data
Metrics > Data
Understanding...

16. Big Understanding
data != understanding
Elon Musk vs The New York Times
Visualization gets us part way there
BUT people are the key
Specialists
--------------------> Literacy
-------------------------------------------> Culture

17. Big Thanks
Thanks for listening!
email: tgibes@promorphics.com
twitter: @tomgibes