Five Essential Graphics for Every Report and Presentation
The wrong kind of visuals or too many visuals will create noise
Have you ever considered how many graphics should be included in your reports and accompanying presentations? Or perhaps what types of graphics you are using? Are there too many graphics? Are there too few? Do you really have an approach that consistently produces the desired effect on decision makers?
The short answer is that you should be asking these questions every time you prepare a report.
There are five essential graphics to use when communicating complex issues to decision makers: pictures, geospatial depictions, time series charts, tables, tornado diagrams and guiding graphics to help decision makers understand the analysis process. Each graphic should contain one primary message. Graphics supporting decision making should not be viewed as art and need not be creative. Essential graphics have the singular purpose of conveying information in an understandable manner.
Pictures
Getting everyone on the same page with a common understanding necessarily requires that a physical image must be current. All too often decision makers have never seen the subject of their decisions, i.e. facilities, plants, and infrastructure. In other cases, the decision makers have a dated visual image of them.
There should be some neutral object in the picture to provide the audience with an indication of size and scale of the object of interest. The caption should state the perspective (i.e., view looking north toward Church Street) since many decision makers will attempt to mentally frame the situation by the people impacted by their decision. The picture should also relate something relevant and simple to the decision at hand or that is at least interesting to the audience.
Pick your best picture (or two). Too many pictures create noise and distract from the signal (your message).
Geospatial Depictions
Physical locations and physical relationships are also important for providing understanding. Akin to a picture, many decision makers will also try to orient their perspective and decision impacts based on where and who may be impacted by their decisions. Aerial photographs and maps from commercially available sources such as Google are sufficient.
Aerial photographs should be in black and white (grayscale). Google-type maps should be in their natural colors or black and white. Note that most Google-type maps have features provided in light colors or pastels, which prevents the base document from detracting from the primary message. The primary features that are the central point of the message should be shown in darker colors to make the primary features stand-out.
One or two geospatial depictions are sufficient. The common mistake is to use too many geospatial depictions, which tends to distract the audience from the data and information that is trying to be communicated. The key point here is that some geospatial depiction is needed for decision makers.
For technical reports and presentations related to things such as process engineering or work processes, most non-technical decision makers cannot effectively understand process diagrams and flow charts without first understanding the geospatial relationships and orientations.
Time Series Charts
The major advantage of time series plots is that they allow the decision makers to evaluate patterns and behavior in actual or forecast data over time. For financial analysis, monetary values are represented on the y-axis and time (typically in years) on the x-axis.
Time series graphs are extremely important for understanding past data trends and future forecasts. For forecasting, probabilistic methods are recommended to provide the decision maker with the best possible understanding of risk and uncertainty associated with the forecast. The cone diagram and the box and whisker diagrams can provide the same information and are equivalent; however, most decision makers and lay people find the smoother depiction of the cone diagram easier to understand initially.
Time series graphs are important in all types of business setting to understand past trends and future forecasts. Once again, one (maybe two) is sufficient.
Tables
Graphs are simply a concise method for depicting large amounts of data. In many cases, graphs are not necessary to provide an understanding of the data. In some cases, the use of the wrong type of graph or the poor construction of the graph makes the data more difficult to understand than if the data were simply presented in a table.
A common mistake by technical professionals is to assume their audiences are incapable of understanding the data and information without the use of a graph. This simply not true when dealing with leaders and decision makers.
And remember, it is common for decision makers to request the underlying data that is used to develop the graph. The source of every graph is a table. You have the choice to just show the table or to produce a graph that may generate noise and questions. The table is usually just as effective as a graph if there are relatively small amounts of data.
Tornado Diagrams
Tornado diagrams are modified versions of a bar chart. They are a classic tool used to communicate the results of a sensitivity analysis, which can be performed either deterministically or probabilistically. The tornado diagram receives its names by the visual image that is created from wider bars associated with input variables that have more impact on the output being located at the top, while the narrow bars associated with input variables with less impact on the output being shown at the bottom.
Tornado diagrams are an essential graphic because they convey sensitivity to decision makers facing decision with complexity and high degrees of uncertainty. The first step, however, is to be doing sensitivity analysis for the decision maker. And ideally, the second step is to use a probabilistic method to do the sensitivity analysis, the tornado diagram is third in the process.
Guiding Graphics
The analysis and treatment of decision making under complexity and uncertainty is iterative in its nature. This requires that the decision maker understand the process and inter-relationships associated with the various components if communication is to be effective. In practice, the need for a guiding graphic to demonstrate the iterative nature of the work and the progress that is being made.
The guiding graphic should also include points or references to specific milestones where decision makers will be involved. Decision makers, with few exceptions, care little about how the technical “sausage” is made or about the details of how hard the technical analysts are working. They care when and where their input is needed and what kind of decisions will be required at those milestones. In short, the guiding graphic is most about the decision maker.
One guiding graphic is sufficient. Use it in every report. Use it in every presentation.
Moving Forward
In practice, graphics need not be simple nor complex. Graphics supporting decision making should not be viewed as art and need not be creative. A good practice is to keep one key message per graphic. Each graphic should show something unique and meaningful from the data. If not, do not use the graphic.
There are five essential graphics to use when communicating complex issues to decision makers: pictures, geospatial depictions, time series charts, tables, tornado diagrams and guiding graphics to help decision makers understand the analysis process. Essential graphics have the singular purpose of conveying information in an understandable manner. One or two of each type of essential graphic is usually sufficient to produce understanding for the decision maker.
Remember the five essential graphics the next time you do a report or presentation. And remember, it not about you — it is about the decision maker!
Learn more about Communicating with FINESSE. See https://www.jdsolomoninc.com/ for more information.
