APPA Library

"Informatics: A Data-Visualization Paradigm"
Author: Jacob Olson and Erik Backus
Published In: Facilities Manager
Date: November/December 2021

The phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” is somewhat selling it short. The right visualization can be worth hundreds of thousands of numbers too. The use of a simple graph can identify where you’re at, where you’ve been, and where you’re going. There are limitless ways to show data; however, finding the path to the right visualization is not always easy. The new paradigm that will help us to get on that path begins with the informatics team asking the right questions. Instead of asking a department leader, “What reports do you need?” the question is reformatted to “What are your goals?” or “What are you trying to achieve?” This allows the informatics team to process the needs of the customer and develop the visual graphics that will help achieve that goal. This process of simply restating the question will also gradually bring those stakeholders to rethink how the informatics team can take big data and turn it into actionable knowledge.

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