Module II·Article II·~1 min read
BI Tools and Data Visualization
Data and Analytics for Business
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Why Visualize Data
The human brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text. Good visualization turns tables into insights. Bad visualization leads to misconceptions.
Leading BI Platforms
Power BI (Microsoft): Most widely used in the corporate segment. Integration with Excel, Office 365, Azure. Price — $10/user/month (Pro). Rich connectors to various data sources.
Tableau (Salesforce): The strongest visualization tool. Interactive dashboards, drag-and-drop. More expensive than Power BI. Popular among analysts.
Looker (Google): Modern BI based on LookML (modeling language). Metric logic is stored in the code, not in reports — a single version of the truth. Integration with BigQuery.
Metabase / Redash: Open-source alternatives for companies with technical teams.
Principles of Good Visualization
Ink minimization principle: Every element of the dashboard should serve comprehension. Remove “chart junk”: unnecessary grid lines, 3D effects, redundant legends.
Correct chart type: Line chart — for trends over time; bar chart — for comparing categories; scatter plot — for correlations; map — for geographic data; heat map — for matrices.
Color with meaning: Do not use color decoratively. Color = information. Red = bad, green = good — standard expectation.
Attention hierarchy: The most important metrics — large and at the top. Details — available by clicking.
Practical Assignment
You are an analyst in a retail company. You need to create a dashboard for the sales director. Data: sales by categories, regions, channels, for the past 12 months. (1) Which 5 key metrics will you put on the main screen? (2) What chart type for each metric? (3) Which interactive filters are needed? Draw the layout (sketch).
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