In this exclusive study, Eckerson Group describes the complexities companies face with analytics - particularly when it comes to communicating information on a large scale - and how to overcome them with Data Storytelling. Find out what Data Storytelling is, how it differs from the current approach to analytics, and the huge impact clear data could have on your organization's performance.
"Data storytelling promises to close the last mile of business intelligence (BI) delivery—connecting data insights to business actions by providing a clear, guided, and contextualized experience. The ability to tell stories with data has long separated top-notch analysts from run-of-the-mill ones. It’s not enough to generate analyses and complex models; data professionals must explain them in terms decision makers can understand. A good story cuts away the complexity, offering a simple narrative that communicates a concrete takeaway. This approach helps organizations become data-driven by lowering the bar on data literacy, freeing up executives, putting the focus on business questions, and proposing tangible courses of action based on the data.
Crafting a compelling data story requires a specific skill set. Data storytellers must combine visual design best practices with clear narrative structure to guide data consumers through their insights. Unfortunately, many analysts lack these talents. Now, modern storytelling-oriented BI vendors promise to turn every report and dashboard author into a top-notch data storyteller by building best practices directly into their platforms. They aim to reduce the time data analysts must spend on design, enabling them to focus more on the data itself.
Modern tools provide authors with a more guided way to create and deliver data stories that doesn’t depend on their existing design, coding, or communication skills. No more presentations with static charts copy-and-pasted onto slides—new tools leverage the cloud to provide interactive data stories in a range of formats at the point of decision making, while natural language generation algorithms create humanreadable narratives from tabular data. These new technologies make data more accessible and digestible than ever, helping connect the analytics workflow to the business workflow."
