Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2
A Graph for Every Problem
Graphs are one of the most versatile and powerful ways to express complex
data—and the least understood. In reality, people use graph techniques in
meeting rooms every day, labeling and diagramming relationships to explain
their thinking to others. Graphs can express relatively complicated concepts
that other visualizations cannot.
When chosen wisely, the right technique can lend the simplest and most
intuitive expression of a particular type of information. When chosen poorly
(or naively employed), a graph can be painfully abstract and obtuse. One of
the primary goals of this chapter is to encourage graph authors to break free
of the trap of simple colored nodes and links and to think more creatively
about graphs.
This chapter introduces graph solutions and is organized by classes of
problems. Later chapters in Part 3 of this topic provide in-depth
walkthroughs of each of these classes using example problems and data.
Documented, reproducible steps are provided for using tools, and sometimes
code, to do the same.
At first glance, your own business problems may seem too multidimensional
to fit into one of these seemingly small and tidy boxes. For example, your
problemmayinvolvebothspatialnetworksandflowandwillcertainlyalways
involve relationships. These are not mutually exclusive aspects. When
choosing an approach, try to think of what is most fundamental about the
questions you are attempting to answer.
Relationships
One of the most valuable and fundamental uses of graphs is to express a
model of the relationships that compose a defined world or system. In a
way, anytime you draw diagrams on a whiteboard, you are creating a graph
of sorts. Graphs enable you to explain a world in a way that can be readily
absorbed. A graph presents a visual model that translates into a mental
model, a way in which you can internalize an understanding of systems and
factors that help inform smart business decisions.
