Building your own skills is one step in strengthening how you use visualization in your work, but fostering organizational change can be hard. Here are a few quick considerations on how to nurture data visualization as a personal skill and as an organizational value, and tips for successful collaborations on data visualization activities. Originally presented as part of the HC3 Innovation Webinar Series on March 8, 2017.

1. Nurturing
Data Visualization
as a personal skill &
organizational value
Amanda Makulec, MPH
Visual Analytics Advisor
John Snow Inc.
Presented 8 March 2017
HC3 InnovationWebinar
15: DataVisualization

2. M y s t o r y
( a n d w h a t I ’ve l e a r n e d )

3. O r g a n i z a t i o n s h ave
c o m p l e x e c o s y s t e m s .

4. T h e Tre e s
(Building your own skills.)

5. BuildingYour Skills
READFlowingData.com
InformationisBeautiful.net
thefunctionalart.com
PolicyViz.com
AnnKEmery.com
EvergreenData.com
StorytellingwithData.com
For inspiration For instruction
Learn from experts who
have spent years exploring
information design.

6. BuildingYour Skills
CRITI
QUE
Look at examples and
think about what works,
what doesn’t, and why.
1980 2008

7. BuildingYour Skills
PRAC
TICE
Find opportunities to
practice your design skills
at work or for fun.

8. BuildingYour Skills
SHARE
Join communities
where you can connect with data
viz enthusiasts working in different
areas of information design.

9. T h e Fo re s t
(Creating change where you work)

10. Show rather than tell.
0 200000 400000 600000 800000
Washington DC
Los Angeles, CA
New York, NY
Chicago, IL
Boston, MA
Mean Estimate
Mean Estimate

11. Data Visualization Hub
Find the people who are
interested…
…and connect them in a
multidisciplinary community.
Mobilize an internal network.
Data
Developers
CommsDesign
Adapted from Kotter (2012)

12. Find your champions and nurture them.
Research
Technology
Design
Communication
Adapted from: https://onthinktanks.org/articles/visualising-data-both-a-science-and-an-art/
Look for people with
different perspectives
on information design.

13. Heavy
lift
Light
touch
Quick
impact
Sustained
change
Sustained ChangeTakes Time
Invite someone
whose data viz
work you admire
to do a lunch
presentation

14. Heavy
lift
Light
touch
Quick
impact
Sustained
change
Sustained ChangeTakes Time
Bring in an
external
facilitator for
an all day viz
workshop
Invite someone
whose data viz
work you
admire to do a
lunch
presentation

15. Heavy
lift
Light
touch
Quick
impact
Sustained
change
Sustained ChangeTakes Time
Bring in an
external
facilitator for
an all day viz
workshop
Start an internal
data viz listserv
& send monthly
resources
Invite someone
whose data viz
work you
admire to do a
lunch
presentation

16. Heavy
lift
Light
touch
Quick
impact
Sustained
change
Sustained ChangeTakes Time
Bring in an
external
facilitator for
an all day viz
workshop
Identify a list of
internal viz
experts who can
help project
teams
Start an internal
data viz listserv
& send monthly
resources
Invite someone
whose data viz
work you
admire to do a
lunch
presentation

17. Heavy
lift
Light
touch
Quick
impact
Sustained
change
Sustained ChangeTakes Time
Bring in an
external
facilitator for
an all day viz
workshop
Identify a list of
internal viz
experts who
can help
project teams
Start an internal
data viz listserv
& send monthly
resources
Hire specifically for
visualization design
skills in your MERL,
comms, and
dev teams
Invite someone
whose data viz
work you
admire to do a
lunch
presentation

18. A T h r i v i n g E c o s y s t e m
5Tips for Success in DataViz Collaborations

19. Speak the same
language.

20. conceptual data driven
declarative
exploratory
idea illustration everyday data viz
idea generation visual discovery
Matrix credit: Harvard Business Review’s Good Charts

21. Ask lots of
questions.

22. Measure twice,
cut once.

23. Program
start
Program
end
TIME
With program
Without program
Start thinking about
WHO
WHAT
HOW
at the start
Program
impact

24. Understand your
audience.

25. Put yourself
in their shoes.

26. Not just
job titles
stakeholder groups
organization names
Focus on the human side of
your data viz audience.

27. Sketch first.

29. Be realistic
with deadlines.
(especially when you’re first
honing your design skills)

30. Amanda Makulec, MPH
John Snow Inc.
Visual Analytics Advisor
@abmakulec