Data Authors: Skilled Designers of Data Presentations - Data Fluency: Empowering Your Organization with Effective Data Communication - page 88

the weather forecast. Instead of serving up a comprehensive 10-day detailed
forecast, DoINeedanUmbrella.com simply provides a direct answer to a good
question, as shown in Figure 5-4.
When looking at the data in our organization, isn't this really what we're try-
ing to get to? Should we hire another developer? Are we going to meet our
sales objectives? Will the product release be on time? Start with your mes-
sage in mind and make sure, if you don't do anything else, that you deliver
that message.
INFORMATION DISCRIMINATION
The most common mistake in ineffective data products is an inability to make
difficult decisions about what information is most important. Amanda Cox of
The New York Times graphics department summed up this problem perfectly,
“Data isn't like your kids—you don't have to pretend to love them equally.”
Figure 5-4: DoINeedanUmbrella.com gets right to the point.