• University of Exeter Business School
• Module

Analytics and Visualisation for Managers and Consultants

Module description

In this module you will develop the skills necessary to communicate analytical results to senior managers. You will learn the consulting skills necessary to understand business problems and develop solutions based upon analytics. The module will develop your skills in communicating information about data visually and verbally. You will learn how to use visualisation tools such as Python libraries and commercial software such as Tableau.

Module aims - intentions of the module

“A good sketch is better than a long speech” - often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte

This module focuses on the skills necessary to communicate data and results to others.
Students will learn the best practices for creating effective visualisations.
Students will be able to assess the quality of visualisation approaches.
Understand the most appropriate method of visualising a variety of data types.
Present information that facilitates decision making.

Students will learn to deliver an ‘elevator pitch’, critique and improve existing visualisations, and undertake a final project to demonstrate their visualisation skills.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of fundamental, and domain specific, analytics methods and tools;
• 2. create, manage, interrogate, interpret and visualise data from a wide range of different sources, types and including structured and unstructured forms.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. communicate effectively through oral presentations and written reports, presenting methodologies and findings in a way that is appropriate to the intended audience.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. demonstrate a collaborative mind-set: Our graduates are enterprising and motivated individuals who are able to actively collaborate and effectively communicate within a range of diverse settings;
• 5. demonstrate technological and digital literacy: Our graduates are able to use technologies to source, process and communicate information.

Syllabus plan

“What about confusing clutter? Information overload? Doesn't data have to be "boiled down" and "simplified"? These common questions miss the point, for the quantity of detail is an issue completely separate from the difficulty of reading. Clutter and confusion are failures of design, not attributes of information.” - Edward Tufte

Fundamentals of visualisation. We will review and apply research on effective data visualisation clear up chart junk and design complex, effective visualisations. We will consider cross-cultural concerns and bridging boundaries in expertise.

The Visualisation Toolbox. Students will confront the variety of forms of data and the different strategies designers and researchers have created for translating information into a visual form: time and change, geography and cartography, relationships and networks. 

Communicating Uncertainty. All models are false, but some are useful. Noise and error are part of all analytic models, and communicating relative certainty is critical for making sound decisions.

Designing a Narrative. The module is designed to encourage students to distill data into an engaging story that communicates efficiently. 

Dashboards and User Experience. We will cover animation, and effective dashboard design. Students will learn principles of user experience and how to create interactive dashboards that give control of the data to the managers and executives who are making decisions. 

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Indicated texts (not required, but will be referenced in the course).

• Simon, P. 2014. The Visual Organization: Data visualisation, Big Data, and the Quest for Better Decisions. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
• Sosulski, Kristen. 2018. Data Visulization Made Simple. Routlege. ISBN: 978-1138503915

https://www.routledge.com/Data-visualisation-Made-Simple-Insights-into-Becoming-Visual-1st-Edition/Sosulski/p/book/9781138503915

• Tufte, E. R. 2001. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, vol. 2. Graphics press Cheshire, CT.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

Software:

• Students will use Python and Visual Studio Code in class.
• We will use Tableau at times for dashboards.
• Inkscape will be used for manipulating images
• We will be using Javascript using the D3.js library to create interactive, data-driven documents. Minimum requirement is an internet browser and a text editor (notepad, gedit, Sublime Text, Notepad++, etc.)

Key words search

Visualisation, Tableau, Dashboards, Analytics