ANLY482 AY2017-18T2 Group32 : Project Findings / Final

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Interim

Finalnew!

Revised Dataset

After Interim, our sponsor have provided us with 2 new dataset - Brand Target and Therapy Group, to be used when we build our dashboard.

Data Preparation and Cleaning

We looked through the new datasets and found that there is inconsistency in the brand name used in these 2 files as compared to the Invoice file. Hence, we have standardized spelling of brand names to ensure consistency with Invoice file.

Data Transformation

Using Qlik Sense, we have joined the datasets as follow.

Literature Review on Dashboard Design and Elements

In order to provide additional insights to our sponsor beyond the KPIs, this paper seeks to explore alternative ways of visualizing data that is not available in visualization dashboard software like Qlik Sense. The Sankey Diagram has been chosen due to their ability to provide users with more granular details than traditional bar graphs or pie chart.
Bullet Chart
The bullet graph is developed by Stephen Few as a replacement for the usual gauges and meters charts in dashboards because of its ability to convey a lot of information in a compact space. It displays a key measure, along with a comparative measure and qualitative ranges to represent if the measure is good, bad, or in some other state. The qualitative scale is color coded by using distinct intensities from dark to light of a single hue. The darker color intensities are used for the poor states while lighter color intensities are used for the favorable states. It is also easy to detect if the measure has met or exceeded the comparative measure, represented by the short line that intersects the bar as a cross shape is formed. Thus, it is perceived pre-attentively due to its prominent form.

Sankey Diagram
A Sankey diagram is used to capture the flow of measures between many dimensions within a network. Developed more than 100 years ago by Irish Engineer Riall Sankey to analyze how efficient steam engines were, Sankey has continued to play an instrumental role in visualizing the quantitative flow of information from one node (usually a dimension) to another. An early adaptation of it was French Engineer Charles Minard's depiction of the failed French invasion of Russia. The observer is able to detect the path of Napoleon's army and realize it was slowly dwindling, as seen from the thinning of brown line.

Dashboard Visualization

A dashboard is an effective tool in communicating a great deal of useful but varied information clearly for users within eye span. We have looked upon Stephen Few's book to set out the guidelines when building the dashboard, focusing on presenting the most crucial variables in a simple and concise manner.

Some of them include:
1. Minimising the non-data pixels (visual content that is not data, e.g. grid lines, color fill, axis lines, etc.) and enhancing data pixels
2. Choosing appropriate color schemes, fonts, graphs, to make the viewing experience aesthetically pleasing, and to be inclusive towards people who are color-blind
3. Increasing the degree in which users comprehend information, by limiting chunks of information per page to within 9, which is the upper-bound in which memory is stored in short-term memory

Throughout the entire dashboard, we avoid the use of green/red combination as much as possible since the colors are not easily differentiated by color-blind users. However, due to some of the limitations of Qlik Sense, the preferred visualization software of our sponsor, some of the colors and fonts are fixed.

Dashboard Design and Elements

Display 1 is the first tab on the Main KPI page, where the 3 KPIs that are the subject of our project are displayed prominently. This page provides an overview for the management to see the TCE sales performance in terms of sales dollars. Hence, for the YTD TCE Sales in 2018, it is placed prominently in the top-left corner of the page. At the bottom-left corner, 2017 values are provided as context for comparison to YTD 2018 values in the line chart.

As suggested by Stephen Few, the KPIs are placed over-and-under to better compare them, using a similar range of 100% [8]. The difference in grey hues background fill in the bullet chart represents the qualitative ranges. The blue bar represents the performance measure while the black marker represents the target. For instance, in KPI #1, the marker is at 95% and the blue bar spans to the "Good" range of the chart. Hence, the bullet chart helps users to see how the KPIs are standing against the targets.

Filters

We have included filters to allow our sponsor to zoom into the details they are interested in at the bottom-right corner of the dashboards. Even though they serve an important function, they do not display data and hence should not be given prominence, thus occupying the least prominent real-estate of the dashboard.

Figure X: Screenshot of Dashboard Filters

3.1.1 -

Main Findings and Analysis

- 5.1 p

Figure 3: -

Additional Visualization Tools

Sankey Diagram

Figure 3: -

It was observed that

6.1.1 Analysis

Limitations of Qlik Sense

Limited visualization tools
Only basic visualization tools like Line, Bar, Pie charts are embedded in Qlik Sense. Other visualization tools (chart extensions) such as bullet charts and Sankey diagram have to be downloaded from Open Source.

Unable to modify colors
Qlik Sense limits the font size (Small, Medium, Large) for text and colors are mostly fixed automatically, so we cannot change them to our desired size and color. For diagrams that were integrated into Qlik Sense using charts extensions developed by other developers, the colors were fixed based on their designs. Hence, we were not able to apply proper color coding as recommended by the textbook to these diagrams.

High number of product
The TCE brand encompasses 44 products. Incorporating all of them into the charts like Sankey diagram would make them look very cluttered, preventing users from deriving any useful information. Hence, there is a need to show only the product categories to balance the granularity and simplicity of information it can give to them.

Conclusion | Key Takeaways

Having a dashboard enables companies to visualize key sales information, allowing them to understand business performance instantly. The characteristic of Qlik Sense allows users to drill down to the specifics by clicking on a dimension will certainly allow multiple stakeholders of our sponsor to either get the big picture or narrow down to the products or channels they are in charge of. Nonetheless, creating a dashboard is not just about putting in bar graphs and pie charts. It involves striking a balance amongst business needs, visualization design elements as well as alternative diagrams that empower users to analyze cross-sectional data. However, dashboards should be intuitive and emphasis on clarity and user experience rather than advanced albeit complicated diagrams that not everybody can understand.

References

• Few, S. (2006). Information Dashboard Design. Sebastopol, California: O'Reilly
• Sankey Diagrams: Six Tools for Visualizing Flow Data. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.azavea.com/blog/2017/08/09/six-sankey-diagram-tool/
• Rasmussen, N., Bansal, M., Chen, C., & Ebooks Corporation. (2009). Business Dashboards A Visual Catalog for Design and Deployment., Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Prof Kam Tin Seong (Associate Professor of Information Systems; Senior Advisor, SIS) and Instructor Meenakshi Gopalakrishnan who have provided our team with valuable feedback and guidance throughout this entire project. We would also like to thank our sponsor for kindly providing us with dataset and support.