Data visualisation is a powerful tool for communicating complex data. You can use data visualisation tools and techniques to present your company’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in a simple, easily understandable format. But it is not enough to simply create a graph or chart and call it a day: to truly make use of information, it is important to create insightful reports. Reports that effectively communicate the story behind the data.
Insightful reports help decision-makers understand key trends and patterns. As well as identify areas of opportunity and make informed decisions. If analytics graphs and bar charts are only telling part of the story, it can lead people to wrong decisions.
Inside Stratum Now, we use data visualisation tools to present important information such as volume of calls received on a per-day and per-hour basis (to work out our peak times for staffing our support desk), and a list of open and aging support tickets so we know where to prioritise support.
Creating holistic and insightful reports requires the use of several data points. One tool that enables this is Microsoft Power BI, a subscription service available from Stratum Now.
What Is Microsoft Power BI?
Microsoft Power BI is a business intelligence tool. It allows you to connect many data sources to one dashboard. Using Power BI, you can easily model and visualise data holistically.
The platform has over 500 different data connectors. These connectors can tap into sources such as Salesforce, Excel, Azure, and more. Users can leverage pre-built report templates to save time in creating data-rich reporting. Teams can also collaborate and share dashboards virtually.
Tips for Designing Great Data Visualisation Reports
Getting started in Microsoft Power BI is as simple as signing up for the service (or asking us to add it for you), connecting up your data sources, and using the built-in tools to create report visualisations. But creating great reports goes beyond that. Below, we’ll go through several tips and best practices for getting the most out of your Power BI output.
Consider Your Audience
You should design reporting dashboards with the end user in mind. What is it that this audience wants to see? Are they looking for bottom-line sales numbers? Or do they want to cover insights that can help target productivity gaps? Are you designing reports for your internal staff to act on, or for external stakeholders who will need additional context?
The use of clear and concise language and effective visualisations are important. These help to highlight the key takeaways from the data. Customise reports to the audience’s level of technical expertise and business goals.
Don’t Overcomplicate Things
Many times, less is more. If you find that your dashboard looks crowded, you may be adding too many reports. The more you add, the more difficult it is to read the takeaways from the data. Time is money!
Remove all but the most essential reports. Look for ways to include different data sets in a single report, such as using stacked bar charts. Dashboards should show important data at a glance, so do your best to avoid the need to scroll.
Try Out Different Chart Types
Experiment with presenting your data in different ways. Flip between bar, pie, and other types of charts to find the one that tells the story the best. When building a new dashboard for your organization, get some input. Ask those who will review the reports which chart type works best for them.
Get to Know Power Query
Power Query is a data preparation engine. It can save you a lot of time in developing insightful reports. This engine is used in Microsoft tools like Power BI and Excel.
Take time to learn how to leverage this tool for help with:
- Connecting a wide range of data sources to the dashboard
- Previewing data queries
- Building intuitive queries over many data sources
- Defining data size, variety, and velocity
Build Maps with Hints to Bing
Bing and Power BI integrate, allowing you to leverage default map coordinates. And as Power BI is a Microsoft tool, there’s lots of opportunities to utilise their other services, such as Bing — you can leverage its mapping power. Use best practices to leverage the mapping power of Bing to improve your geo-coding.
For example, if you want to plot cities on a map, name your columns after the geographic designation. This helps Bing identify exactly what you’re looking for.
Tell People What They Are Looking At
A typical comment heard often when presenting executives with a new report is “what am I looking at?” Tell your audience what the data means by using features like tooltips and text boxes to add context. Not all dashboards are just shown on a big TV – some are meant to be interacted with.
Use Emphasis Tricks
Eye-tracking studies have proven that people usually glance at the top left corner of anything first — so put your most important information there.
If you have specific numbers that need to stand out, increase the font size or bold the text. This ensures that your audience understands the key takeaways.
Using colours to emphasise things like a “High, Mid, Low” can also help. For example, a low level of accidents could be green, a mid-level in yellow, and a high coloured red. This provides more visual context to the data.
Need Help with Power Bi or Other Microsoft Products?
We can help you get started or improve your use of Microsoft 365, Power BI, and more. Microsoft are keen to get you to use their tools and there are incentives available to help you bring your data to Microsoft’s analytical platforms. Give us a call today to schedule a chat about leveraging this powerful product!
This Article has been Republished with Permission from The Technology Press.
