Infographics and every which way you can charts… Or the Life of Pie!
16/08/2017
Something that I often find troubling is people tell me, “David, you have to show people information in a way they can best consume it”. My initial reaction was, “No, they have to understand the best way to understand what I’m saying is to use the charts I use to present that information”. But that way I get told, “You’re telling them they have to get into your world, rather than getting into theirs and pulling them in the right direction”.
Then, I swung around to believing what we have to do is adopt an infographics approach and use every which way we can charts. A short BBC4 programme kicked off this line of thought – “The Joy of Stats”. Dr Hans Rosling (who died earlier this year) was a hugely engaging and enthusiastic speaker on the use of statistics and visualisation to engage wide audiences. Here’s a 5-minute excerpt from one of his pieces of work:
[su_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/jbkSRLYSojo”]Remarkable stuff!
But then I got to thinking, and it goes back to a previous blog series on the future of performance management https://cranfieldcbp.wordpress.com/2017/01/09/the-future-of-operational-performance-management/
So we know, from the days of Monty Python, that accountants are boring! But when they do want to review the health of an organisation, they don’t reach for every which way infographics! There’s a standard set of tools (developed over 500 years of financial performance measurement) that they use (P&L, Assets and Liabilities, etc.). My proposition in those previous blogs and still today is “What is the message you are trying to get across?”. If it is simply engaging people with “enumerative” statistics, then by all means turn to the infographics shelf! BUT, if you want to show whether something you measure is improving or deteriorating, then reach for the standard set of tools (developed over about 50 years of operational performance measurement) – and that means using extended-SPC techniques – which can be fun and exciting – honest!!
Or the alternative? You might be committed to the “Life of Pie”!
Categories & Tags:
Leave a comment on this post:
You might also like…
Bank holiday hours for Library Services: Monday 31 August
Library Services staff will be taking a break on Monday 31 August for the bank holiday. You will still be able to access all the resources and help you need via our library website. The 24/7 ...
The real cost of studying in the UK – what international students need to budget for
Moving overseas to pursue a postgraduate degree is one of the most exciting investments you can make in your future. It's also one of the most significant financial commitments you and your family will ...
Seven things you should definitely prepare for before studying at Cranfield University
You're thinking about Cranfield. Maybe you've done the virtual tour, read through the course pages, spoken to the course director or attended a webinar. Now, you're trying to figure out what life here is actually ...
From insurance to aerospace: why I chose to study a PhD with Cranfield
My path to studying for a PhD wasn't exactly a straight line. I had just graduated with an MEng in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Surrey and, like a lot of people, wasn't ...
How to build a business that keeps growing
Ask any business owner about their ambitions and "growth" will almost certainly feature near the top of the list. More customers, higher revenues, larger teams and new markets are often seen as signs of ...
Three practical ways SMEs can build resilience in a challenging business environment
Economic uncertainty, shifting customer expectations and rapid technological change have become part of everyday business. While no organisation can predict every challenge, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can improve their resilience by focusing on ...