Stephen Few: Visual Business Intelligence Workshop

Stephen Few, author of a couple of great data visualisation books, is coming to Sydney next year. I think this is only the second time he has come to Australia so it is a rare opportunity to hear the man in person. 

For those that don't know of his work, he publishes a blog called Visual Business Intelligence. 

He has also published 3 books since 2004:

• Now You See It: Simple Visualization Techniques for Quantitative Analysis
• Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data
• Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten

The books are very approachable and are in the same genre as those by Edward R. Tufte. In the past I have used the work of both of these authors (among others) to apply good design and usage principles in practical situations. For example, I have created a style guide for analysts designing reports and dashboards at an organisation I used to work with. Here is how that document was organised:

Guide To Using Analytics

Table of Contents

1. Report and Dashboard Design Guide    2
2. Tables Versus Graphs    2
3. Using Tables    2
4. 1. Quantitative-to-Categorical Relationships    2
   2. Quantitative-to- Quantitative Relationships    4
5. Using Graphs    6
6. The Corporate Look and Feel    9
7. Quick Start Guide    11
8. Hierarchies    12
9. 1. Product    12
   2. Broker    13
   3. Business Line    15
   4. Account    17
   5. Transaction    21
   6. Purpose    24
10. Measures    29
11. Dimensions    101
12. Index    144

Based on his books, I can recommend this workshop. Cost is $1600 if you are quick to book, $1800 if you're not. Here are the details care of the workshop organisers, Altis:

Stephen Few: Visual Business Intelligence Workshop

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” — Leonardo da Vinci

The three day workshop prepares you for the many facets of presenting and analysing quantitative business data. Stephen Few approaches the problem of taming the information overload by providing simple practical instruction communicated through examples. Key concepts that will be covered include:

• Table and graph design for effective communication
• Dashboard design for at-a-glance monitoring
• Visual data analysis for discovery and understanding

Visual Business Intelligence Workshop Sydney 9-11 February 2010

The course runs for 3 days and will be presented by Stephen Few. Download the course brochure for full course details plus a full course outline. 

  Click Here to Register.

For more information, please email Altis at [email protected].

Comments

[Alka]

Hey Egon! Your name came up a couple of times in one of the senisoss being run by Deepak Singh. I'll eventually post the slides, but a brief overview of my is up at the workshop's wiki, and the talks will eventually up on YouTube. This has been a very interesting meeting so far, both in content and discussion.