Post on 05-Apr-2017
transcript
Designing Data Visualizations
with Empathy
Amanda Makulec, MPH
Visual Analytics Advisor | John Snow Inc.
Where a local organization uses
community scorecards to capture
quarterly data on health services
in 18 communities.
They needed to identify who can use the data and how that person wants to have the data presented and shared.
Design thinking gives us tools to cultivate empathy.
Graphic: Hasso Plattner Institute of Design Stanford University
Credit to ThinkPlace Foundation, from the Innovations for Maternal,
Newborn & Child Health Initiative’s Care Community Hub
Personas Journey
Maps
Today, we’ll walk through a rapid overview of two design thinking
techniques you can use in data visualization design.
Personas help us move beyond
job titles
stakeholder groups
organization names
and focus on the human side of
your audience.
Each persona represents a significant portion of
people in the real world and enables the designer to
focus on a manageable and memorable cast of
characters, instead of focusing on thousands of
individuals.”
“A persona is depicted as a specific
person but is not a real individual;
rather, it is synthesized from
observations of many people.
From:
https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2014/08
/a-closer-look-at-personas-part-1/
Analytical ability Job function Education
Programmatic knowledge Access to tools
Motivations to use data Pain points Interests
Where they access information Champion or opposition
Talking directly to members of your
audience gives you the greatest insight
into their wants, needs, and pain points.
Credit to ThinkPlace Foundation, from the Innovations for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health
Initiative’s Care Community Hub
Wants
stories
Wants
numbers
Motivated
by passion Motivated
by money
Act based
on feelings Act based
on data
Resilient
problem solver
Frustrated
bureaucrat
Champion for
your issue
Oppose your
issue
Wants
stories
Wants
numbers
Motivated
by passion Motivated
by money
Act based
on feelings Act based
on data
Resilient
problem solver
Frustrated
bureaucrat
Champion for
your issue
Oppose your
issue
Rachel
the Technocrat
Pascal
the Politician
Creating a journey map is an excellent way to
systematically think about the steps or milestones
of a process, and can be used in developing
empathy and in communicating about your work.1
You can use the steps on the journey map to
identify pain points for your data user that can be
transformed into opportunities for you in sharing
your data.
1 Definition from https://dschool-old.stanford.edu/groups/k12/wiki/d8073/Journey_Map.html
Pascal The Politician
Community
scorecard data is
collected in
Pascal’s district
Pascal takes action
with the district
supply chain team
to identify root
causes of the issue
Analysis shows
4 clinics in
Pascal’s district
have stockouts
of condoms
Pascal is
unaware of the
stockouts
NGO meets
with Pascal in
his office to
share the data
Pascal shares the
issue with the
District Health
Executive Team
The DHE checks the
logistics information
system and sees the
stockouts were not
reported
I am aware… I think about my options… I decide… I seek… I receive… I share…
Use a set of
prompts if you’re
having trouble
mapping out steps
Pascal The Politician
Community
scorecard data is
collected in
Pascal’s district
Pascal takes action
with the district
supply chain team
to identify root
causes of the issue
Analysis shows
4 clinics in
Pascal’s district
have stockouts
of condoms
Pascal is
unaware of the
stockouts
NGO meets
with Pascal in
his office to
share the data
Pascal shares the
issue with the
District Health
Executive Team
The DHE checks the
logistics information
system and sees the
stockouts were not
reported
Pascal has limited
time and needs
something short he
can easily share
with other DHE
members
The DHE may see
no stockouts in
their system and
doubt the accuracy
of the community
data
Pascal The Politician
Community
scorecard data is
collected in
Pascal’s district
Pascal takes action
with the district
supply chain team
to identify root
causes of the issue
Analysis shows
4 clinics in
Pascal’s district
have stockouts
of condoms
Pascal is
unaware of the
stockouts
NGO meets
with Pascal in
his office to
share the data
Pascal shares the
issue with the
District Health
Executive Team
The DHE checks the
logistics information
system and sees the
stockouts were not
reported
Pascal has limited
time and needs
something short he
can easily share
with other DHE
members
The DHE may see
no stockouts in
their system and
doubt the accuracy
of the community
data
NGO creates a
one page brief
summarizing the
data and recs
NGO adds a spot
check of stock-
on-hand to the
scorecard
process
Works well… In a workshop setting to
brainstorm audience needs
In coaching teams on ways
to explore their audience.
To focus on primary
audience needs when
mapping a dissemination
plan with multiple
deliverables
In designing dashboards and
other interactive
visualization tools
Favorite Resources for Diving in on Design Thinking
• Stanford d. School Bootcamp Bootleg
dschool.stanford.edu/resources
• IDEO Design Kit
ideo.com/post/design-kit
Amanda Buenz Makulec
amanda_makulec@jsi.com
@abmakulec
Follow @jsihealth