Why is data visualization so important, and how can we do it well? Data visualization is often the initial pain point in a project. People don't have their reports and data visualizations, and they simply want more of them. In order to build a business strategy, leaders and decision makers need to understand what they want to achieve, and they also need to understand the existing terrain of the organization.

Businesses require that operational reporting solutions deliver results that can be predicted, operationally efficient, and robust, while delivering corporate accountability and transparency. This makes operational reporting more important. If the stakeholder needs are not fulfilled, then they will simply resort to more home-grown solutions rather than insightful long-term decision-making tools.

Business intelligence can enhance and extend an enterprise by supporting its decision-making ability. It can have a direct impact on the overall performance of the organization by promoting a cycle of continuous innovation, along with better decision making. This is more important in today's fast-paced and demanding environment, particularly given the amount of data that we produce every day. By understanding the data better using visual best practices, we are giving ourselves the opportunity to make better decisions. This is particularly important in today's Big Data world.

This chapter will help you to see some of the theories and best practices that underpin visual design and display in a dashboard. Why is this important? You will want to share your dashboards with team members or perhaps with senior management in your organization. Even though every visualization is different, there are common themes that will help you create your dashboards in such a way that you are more likely to get your message across to the right people in the right way.

John Stuart Mill, the English philosopher, once held the utilitarian principle that the right course of action is the one that maximizes utility. This usually translates as the one that maximizes benefit or the one that makes most people happy. In data visualization, ultimately the goal is to build a visualization that suits your audience rather than building something that is best for you, the dashboard creator.

This is only a brief overview, and it's recommended that you follow up with the references provided in each section.