TIBCO solution brief

Five Common Data

Visualization Mistakes
and How to Avoid Them

“A picture is worth a thousand words” was never truer than

when applied to big data, and visualizing that data to uncover
insights, gaps, and potential risks. Because it’s much easier for
the human mind to process complex concepts visually, data
visualization has become a key to success in the world of
business intelligence (BI). In a world where we’re surrounded
by visualizations, the insights race will be won not just by
visualizing data, but by doing so at scale and in real time.
And constantly evolving BI applications, such as TIBCO Spotfire
software are becoming increasingly adept at displaying data
in new, visually compelling and insightful ways, making the
whole process of analyzing data much easier than pouring over
spreadsheets and lengthy datasets. Delivering insights through
interactive, story-driven visualizations is expected today.
Even when using powerful tools like Spotfire analytics, great
visualizations aren’t guaranteed. Human error, failing to probe
for the most salient insights, and a lack of understanding about
what makes a visualization impactful can stand in the way.
It’s time to level up the impact of your data visualization
insights by understanding five of the most common mistakes
we see in data visualization, and learn from advanced
practitioners how to avoid them.
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Error 1: Starting without a plan

• Start with the point you are trying to make
• Be open to new discoveries
• Always tell a story with your data
• Know your audience

Know why and for whom you’re building the

visualization.
Jumping into analyzing data and building visualizations without
a plan is one of the easiest ways to fail to communicate. It’s
best if you know what you’re trying to communicate, and with
whom, before you start spending any time creating graphs,
charts, or infographics.

Be open to new discoveries.

Even though you have a point and a conclusion you are aiming
for, be open to unexpected insights that surface in the data,
especially if you are using AI-enhanced queries that might
uncover insights that you hadn’t even known were there.

Tell a story with your data.

To make an effective visualization and really engage your
audience, you need to tell a story with it. Graphics alone are not
enough. You need to begin with a question or a problem, take
the audience on a journey, and end with a solution. A story will
offer context and meaning and show the audience where to
look. Think of your data visualization as merely a tool to help
you tell your story. Telling a story with data takes preplanning,
clear objectives, and the right interactive visual elements. Data-
driven stories drive change by engaging the audience and
helping them comprehend what they previously could not.

This visualization is very interesting, but what story is it telling, and

for whom?
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Create for your audience.

Who, exactly, is going to be using the data to make decisions?
Is your audience very familiar with the topic, or are they
newbies who need a lot of context to understand the full
picture? Different audiences may need different visualizations
from the same dataset, so it’s important to know as much
about your audience as possible. Also, knowing how much
time your audience has to analyze will steer you towards the
right level of complexity in your visualization. If your audience
doesn’t have enough time to absorb the content, the simpler,
the better, so the point is clear within a few seconds.

Complex visualizations will require more context and reader time.

An easy-to-absorb visualization may also lead to unexpected insights.

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Error 2: Failing to identify errors

• Incorrect calculations
• Incorrect marking, tagging, or labeling
• Data from different datasets that are not normalized
• Built-in sample bias

The main reason for visualizing data is to make it easy to

understand. Unfortunately, it’s easy to miss errors that
affect the accuracy of the visualization, or that lead to
incorrect inferences.

Misleading or incorrect calculations.

For example, if you choose to use a pie chart rather than a bar
chart, you might create a visualization that looks very wrong,
even if the underlying data is accurate. Other examples include
calculating the wrong foreign currency, wrong degrees, etc. A
best practice: have others review the visualization for accuracy
in both its calculation and in presentation style.

Representing aggregated values in pie charts can be misleading

when the data doesn’t completely represent the parts of a whole (for
example, all countries in the world). A bar chart of aggregated values is
a more accurate means for representing top values.

Incorrect or misleading marking, tagging, or

labeling.
When marking data, be sure the marking doesn’t lead to an
incorrect interpretation. For example, if two data tables are
completely unrelated to each other, it’s a best practice to use
different markings with different marking colors for those
two data tables. This will decrease the risk that the viewer
will interpret the marked data in the two data tables as being
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related to each other. Using labels for markers on a map or

scatter plot may provide useful information and clarity, but when
there are many markers on the plot, labeling all markers may
not be desirable. With an advanced analytics tool like Spotfire
software, there are powerful customizations that enable you to
select which markers to display in maps and scatter plots.

Failure to normalize data.

The goal of normalization is to change the values of numeric
columns in the dataset to a common scale, without distorting
differences in the ranges of values. For example, let’s look at a
dataset where we want to relate age ranges and income. If age
ranges from 0 to 100, and income ranges from 0 to 200,000
and higher, income is about 1,000x greater than age, putting
these two attributes in very different ranges. If you were to do
further analysis such as multivariate linear regression, income
will influence the result more, due to its larger value, but may
not be more important as a predictor. By normalizing the data,
we reduce the chance of this error by bringing all the variables
to the same range.

Beware of bias.
A visualization based on sampling must use a representative
sample for the visualization to be reliable. Bias, however, is not
always obvious. It can be hidden in unconscious choices made
when selecting both the datasets to work with, and the questions
to ask as a visualization is created. Bias can even be hidden
in algorithms and work processes, as discussed in “The Real
Reason Tech Struggles with Algorithmic Bias” by Yael Eisenstat.
Data visualization experts should be encouraged to develop
procedures and techniques that support transparency in the
ways in which they create visualizations. And, when viewing
visualizations, allow yourself some degree of skepticism about the
results as long as there is a possibility of bias somewhere.
Using the Spotfire Recommendations engine can help make
selecting the best chart type for the data much easier. The
engine suggests best practice visualizations based on the
specific relationships of data variables.

Error 3: The wrong type of data

visualization
• Use the best fit visualization type for the data
• Use the best fit visualization method for the audience/topic
• Consider the visualization needed for specific delivery
devices such as mobile or desktop

Not every chart type fits the data, nor the story the data will
tell. For example, a pie chart can’t show changes in value over
time. A line chart would be a better choice. Make sure the chart
you’ve chosen is the best fit for communicating clearly what
insights the user will need.
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Using the Spotfire Recommendations engine can help make

selecting the best chart type for the data much easier. The
engine suggests best practice visualizations based on the
specific relationships of data variables.

As a general rule, use simple visual structures and keep them

as clean as possible. Avoid the temptation to overdesign with
drop shadows or 3D effects. Visual effects add emphasis in
ways that don’t always support the accuracy of findings.
Basic rules to follow:

• To highlight and compare values, use a bar chart.

• To show change over time, or how one value affects
another, use a line graph.
• To show how a whole is divided up, use a pie chart, but
only for up to seven categories. For more than that,
consider a tree map or a bar chart with 0–100% axis.
• To show relationships between values, use a scatter chart.

Assume viewers are not using a large high-

resolution display.
Many viewers will be using mobile devices. It’s important
to design for and test your visualizations on a wide range
of platforms.
Choose a data visualization tool that will provide
recommendations for visualizations that fit the data, which can
save a lot of time and effort.

More tips for avoiding error 3

Rather than assume what viewers want, make your

visualizations interactive to empower them to explore.
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Error 4: Misleading Visualization

When making a visualization that meets presentation
needs, errors (intentional or not) can lead to errors in the
conclusions drawn.

Changing scales.
Truncating scales may seem like a good choice to cut down on
clutter, but can quickly lead to misinterpretations. While it can
be acceptable to not start a Y-axis at zero (for example, when
needing to show movement across time on small increments
when the whole is much larger, as in stock market data across
a three day period) doing so requires a thoughtful review of
the visualization.

Cherry-picking data.
If you’re receiving data from a source, understand how that
data was gathered, and whether it is complete and accurate.
This will help you avoid instances where the data was cherry-
picked to influence a visualization outcome.

Error 5: Confusion not clarity

The main use case for any data visualization is to make insights
clearer. As noted statistician Edward Tufte stated, “Excellence
in statistical graphics consists of complex ideas communicated
with clarity, precision, and efficiency.”

Add a scale and a legend.

The scale and data being visualized may seem obvious to you,
but they probably are not to others using your visualization.
Make sure descriptions are accurate, succinct, and visually
relate to the content they describe.

Help viewers get the insights needed from the

visualization, quickly.
Make sure your labeling and marking are appropriate not just
for the data visualized, but also for the audience. For example,
when preparing a visualization for a non-statistics-savvy
business user, present the data in a form that the business user
can understand and accurately interpret it. When you want to
tell a story with data, you can guide your viewer’s attention to
the storyline by thoughtful use of marking and labeling.

Don’t cram all your data into one visual.

Use two, three, or more visualizations if it makes
understanding easier. This is especially important for complex
multidimensional datasets where different types of charts are
often needed to properly interpret each analysis.
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Use written descriptions if useful.

For most audiences, a written explanation will augment the
visualization and help clarify the insights. But be aware if a
visualization requires a lengthy explanation. This is a sign that
the visualization needs to be made more understandable.

A data-rich visualization that would benefit from some written

descriptors regarding what is being compared, and why.

Use color to support meaning.

Use color to highlight important results and categorize values.
Use color to clarify relationships. Be mindful that color does
have cultural associations that may affect how the user
perceives the insights shared, so know your audience to ensure
color isn’t a source of confusion.

More tips

Join the TIBCO Data Visualization community where you

can interact with experts and ask questions about your
toughest problems.

Conclusion
Data visualization mistakes are not uncommon, but the right
tools ARE uncommon. You need a tool that can help you
automate data preparation (reducing the risk of errors 1 and 2),
select the best chart type for the visualization (reducing the
risk of error 3), and provide insights your audience can use no
matter who they are (reducing the risk of errors 3, 4, and 5).
You need a tool that will help you level up the quality of your
visualization work, taking it from good enough charting and
dashboarding to a source for dynamic, meaningful insight.
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What to think about

Think about your needs now and into the future. Look for
applications able to work with all the data sources—small,
large, static, and streaming—you are likely to need now and in
the future.
Think about how your organization will best be served
by visualizations.
In addition to static charts, you probably want to create
interactive visualizations with drill-down capabilities as
well as dashboards that can notify users when monitoring
key performance indicators (KPIs), operational needs,
and outliers.

Think about devices.

Where and how might your visualizations be consumed?
Will they work on a mobile device? What devices will your
viewers want to use to create and consume visualizations?
Would you be better off with a cloud-based tool rather
than on-premises software?

Remember visualizations are only part of the story.

Collaborating on your visualizations may be important.
Look for tools able to distribute the charts and
dashboards you build, and also consider tools that enable
you to build “self-service” visualization apps for your
business users.

It’s up to you
Errors in visualization can lead to the wrong decisions
being made, misunderstandings that extend beyond your
organization, and harm to your reputation. There is a tool
designed not only to help you create the visualizations
your organization needs, but how to avoid some common
errors while doing so. TIBCO Spotfire software can help you
automatically wrangle and prepare your data, select the best
visualization type, and uncover insights from data whether
from traditional or Internet of Things (IoT) streaming sources.
Review some of our resources, and sign up for a free trial today.

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25May2022