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Unit 6: Computer Tools

Data Visualization: Charts and Graphs

ICT 110: IT for Business

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lecture, you will be able to:
  • ✅ Understand the role of data visualization in modern business decision-making.
  • ✅ Identify the appropriate chart or graph for different business scenarios (Finance, HR, Operations, etc.).
  • ✅ Differentiate between common visualization tools used in the industry.
  • ✅ Analyze how Nepalese companies use data visualization to gain a competitive edge.

What is Data Visualization?

Data Visualization is the practice of translating raw data (spreadsheets, databases) into a visual context, like a map or graph, to make it easier for the human brain to understand and pull insights from.

Think of it as telling a story with data. 📖

Goal: To communicate complex information clearly, efficiently, and with impact.

Why Visualize Data in Business? 📊

Instead of digging through endless spreadsheets, visualizations help managers to:

  • ⚡ Make Faster Decisions: Instantly spot trends, outliers, and patterns. A line chart showing a sales drop is much quicker to grasp than a table of numbers.
  • 🔍 Identify Relationships: See correlations between variables. Does marketing spend increase sales? Does overtime affect production quality?
  • 🎯 Communicate Insights: Easily share findings with stakeholders, teams, and executives, regardless of their technical background.
  • 💼 Support Strategic Planning: Use historical data trends to forecast future performance and allocate resources effectively.

Common Chart Types: An Overview

Comparison

Comparing values across categories.

e.g., Bar & Column Charts

Trends Over Time

Showing how a data point changes over a period.

e.g., Line & Area Charts

Composition

Showing parts of a whole.

e.g., Pie & Donut Charts

Let's explore each with business examples...

Bar & Column Charts: For Comparison

Purpose

Excellent for comparing discrete categories against each other.

  • Column Chart: Vertical bars (good for chronological data).
  • Bar Chart: Horizontal bars (good for long category labels).

Business Applications

  • 💰 Finance: Comparing revenue across different product lines for a quarter.
  • ⚙️ Operations: Comparing performance metrics of different suppliers.
  • 🤝 HR: Comparing employee satisfaction scores by department.
  • 📈 Marketing: Comparing lead conversions from different advertising channels.

Line Charts: For Tracking Trends 📈

Purpose

Ideal for showing continuous data over time. Connects data points to visualize trends, patterns, and fluctuations.

Business Applications

  • 💰 Finance: Tracking a company's stock price or monthly profit over a fiscal year.
  • ⚙️ Operations: Monitoring daily production output or website server uptime.
  • 🤝 HR: Visualizing the employee turnover rate over the last five years.
  • 📈 Marketing: Tracking growth in social media followers or website visitors per month.

Pie & Donut Charts: For Composition

Purpose

Shows the proportion of different categories that make up a whole (100%).

Best Practice: Use for 5 or fewer categories. More than that becomes hard to read!

Business Applications

  • 💰 Finance: Illustrating the breakdown of a company's annual budget by department.
  • ⚙️ Operations: Showing the percentage of product defects by cause.
  • 🤝 HR: Displaying the composition of the workforce by age demographic.
  • 📈 Marketing: Visualizing market share distribution among competitors.

Activity: Choose the Right Chart!

For each business scenario, which chart type would you use and why?

Scenario 1: Finance 💰

You need to present the company's revenue for each quarter of the last fiscal year to show growth.

Answer: Line Chart (to show trend over time) or Column Chart (to compare quarters).

Scenario 2: HR 🤝

You want to show the percentage breakdown of employees by their educational level (e.g., Bachelor's, Master's, PhD).

Answer: Pie or Donut Chart (to show parts of a whole).

Scenario 3: Operations ⚙️

You need to compare the number of units produced last month by five different factories.

Answer: Bar Chart (to compare distinct categories/factories).

Beyond the Basics: Advanced Visualizations

Gantt Charts

Used in Project Management (Operations) to visualize project timelines, tasks, and dependencies.

Heatmaps

Used in Marketing to see where users click on a website, or in Finance for risk assessment matrices.

Dashboards

A collection of visualizations that gives a high-level overview of the business. Used by executives across all functions.

A dashboard combines multiple charts to provide a comprehensive view of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Common Data Visualization Tools

Spreadsheet Software

Examples: Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets

Best for: Quick, simple charts and analysis. Accessible to nearly all business users.

Business Intelligence (BI) Tools

Examples: Microsoft Power BI, Tableau

Best for: Creating interactive dashboards, handling large datasets, and advanced analysis.

Programming Libraries

Examples: Python (Matplotlib, Seaborn), R (ggplot2)

Best for: Data scientists and analysts needing custom, complex, and highly specific visualizations.

Practical Application in Nepal 🇳🇵

Leading Nepalese companies use data visualization for strategic advantage:

eSewa (FinTech)

Uses dashboards to monitor real-time transaction volumes (Line Chart), analyze user growth, and visualize the popularity of different payment services (Pie Chart) to guide business strategy.

Daraz (E-commerce)

Visualizes sales data by province (Bar Chart) to identify top markets, tracks daily website traffic to manage server load (Line Chart), and analyzes customer purchase patterns.

CG Foods (Manufacturing)

Uses charts in its operations to monitor production line efficiency against targets (Line Chart) and compare raw material costs from different suppliers (Bar Chart) to optimize the supply chain.

A Commercial Bank

Analyzes loan performance by sector (e.g., agriculture, hydro) using column charts, and tracks deposit growth over time with line charts for reporting to Nepal Rastra Bank and making strategic decisions.

Key Takeaways

  • 📊 Data visualization transforms complex data into actionable business insights for all departments.
  • 🎯 The right chart depends on your goal: comparing values, showing trends, or breaking down a whole.
  • 💼 From Excel to Power BI, various tools are available to help businesses visualize their data effectively.
  • 💡 Effective visualization is a powerful skill for any business professional, helping to drive strategy and clear communication.

Thank You!

Q & A

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