Database Reference
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your head. For some situations when communicating data, there is sufficient
time to interpret the results and provide a summary before presenting to your
audience. Letting the data speak for itself can be a recipe for misinterpreta-
tion and confusion. The following quote about journalism offers a broader
perspective on how to present complex information:
The most “basic” [journalistic] acts are reporting today's news and providing
current information, as with prices, weather reports and ball scores. We think of
“analysis,” “interpretation,” and also “explanation” as higher order acts. They come
after the news has been reported, building upon a base of factual information
laid down by prior reports . . . . [However, there are some stories]
where until I
grasp the whole, I am unable to make sense of any part.
Not only am I not
a customer for news reports prior to that moment, but the very frequency of the
updates alienates me from the providers of those updates because the news stream
is adding daily to my feeling of being ill-informed, overwhelmed, out of the loop.
—Jay Rosen, NYU Journalism Institute
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These design principles are some of the fundamental guidelines that can
shape your thinking about a data product and help you evaluate whether
you've been successful.
VIVA THE AUTHORS OF DATA PRODUCTS
This chapter was about the people in organizations who do the hard work of
creating reports, presentations, and dashboards that communicate data. It is a
common activity, but a role that is seldom identified explicitly or described with a
set of skills and objectives. This chapter explained what it is to be an author of data
products, and why this role is essential to the success of a data fluent organiza-
tion. It is not just that these producers facilitate the flow of information between
people. They also add tremendous value to the data they are communicating by
analyzing, summarizing, structuring, storytelling, visualizing, and contextualizing.
It takes many diverse skills to be good at designing data products. Although
some of these skills were mentioned, they were not described in sufficient depth
to make you an expert. More than teaching skills, you were provided with guid-
ance as to what matters the most in the process by focusing on the following:
Know what your audience wants to know and what they can act on.
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Strive to focus your message to present the right metrics and content.
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Build logic, structure, and flow into your data products so that audi-
ences can more easily digest the information you are delivering.
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