We have an abundance of data today. Every organization has massive amounts of data available to assess, analyze, and retrieve actionable insights. Data visualization plays a crucial role in enabling organizations to effectively manage their data and understand it to increase their business efficiency, productivity, profit margins, and workforce capabilities. 

As the amount of data available on hand increases, organizations are in search of effective data visualization tools to help them organize and manage their data constructively. In this article, we have discussed a few tips that can help you to choose the right data visualization tool for your organization.

Tip 1 – Outline your desired visualization.

Before choosing a tool, the first step is to outline your desired visualization. Just like you pen down your requirements before investing in any software, you must have a clear idea of the kind of visualization you want so that you choose the tool that fulfills your needs. 

Tip 2 – Figure out your target audience. 

Data visualization is a tool to communicate clearly and effectively. In order to do so, your visualization should be according to the audience that’s going to perceive it. 

Figuring out your target audience is a crucial consideration while selecting the ideal data visualization tool for your use case. It would help if you asked yourself questions like:

  • How much time your audience has?
  • What kind of information does your audience need to indulge in effective decision-making procedures?
  • What degree of precision in your visualization will add value to your audience’s job roles?
  • What kind of graphs and charts will best portray the necessary information?
  • What are the complexity levels with which your audience will be comfortable?

By answering all these questions, you’ll be able to figure out what kind of visualizations would be most apt for your audience. Accordingly, you’ll be able to choose a proper data visualization tool. 

Tip 3 – Look for tools that maximize clarity.

Clear, decluttered, and neat visualization is the key to delivering information effectively. Hence, you must ensure that the data visualization tools you opt for maximize clarity. 

Tools that focus on clarity help you create visualizations that deliver information without overwhelming amounts of extraneous detail, relevant, high-quality, and refined. Many times, data visualization tools come with too many lines, borders, and unnecessary ink, which can make the visualization appear cluttered. A cluttered visual will distract your audience from the critical data.  

Data visualization tools with simple features like white borders and direct labels can do the trick. They can make your visuals look clear and fulfill the purpose effectively. 

Tip 4 – Choose tools that offer intuitive dashboards.

Tools with intuitive dashboards help you strike a balance between the accuracy and attractiveness of the data visualization. This balance is essential to ensure the effectiveness of data communication to your target audience. 

Tip 5 – Keep your team’s expertise and your organization’s available resources in mind. 

It is essential to be aware of your team’s capabilities and resources available to you before selecting a data visualization tool. This step helps you to ensure that you invest in a tool that your team will be able to leverage effectively. 

By choosing a tool that’s complex to integrate and use and takes up more resources (in terms of budget, computational resources, etc.) than you can afford, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Hence, you must consider the following points while investing in a data visualization tool for your organization:

  • Pricing and costs related to hardware, software, operations, etc. 
  • Ease of Use and Integration
  • Required Technical Expertise
  • Data Permission and Preparation
  • Time-to-Deployment
  • Supported Data

Tip 6 – Look for tools that support automation, animation, and dynamic data.

There are multiple types of data recorded by an organization, and each type changes at a different pace. While some data changes after a few days, other types get updated every few minutes. With tools that support automation and dynamic data, you can ensure accurate data visualization every time, as the tool can automatically refresh the visualization at intervals scheduled by you.

Several advanced data visualization tools are available that support dynamic data, automation, and animations. Such tools ensure ease of use while assuring optimal functionality. 

CONCLUSION

The availability of too many options can be confusing and can make the task of choosing a data visualization tool very tedious. By considering the tips mentioned in this article, you’ll be able to select a competent tool for your organization.