1 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Competitive Analysis Techniques Choosing the right visual tools for CI and decision-making

2 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 This presentation shall help the audience understand the value of visualisation tools and methods towards world class competitive intelligence. Examples used will show the importance of choosing the right tools for specific analysis techniques or business requirements. Main thrust and focus of the presentation After this presentation, competitive intelligence practitioners should gain or benefit: Tools: Choose the most appropriate visualisation tools available to assist in decision making and how to adapt depending on the decision maker or audience Examples: Identify what can be drawn or expanded from different visualisation tools Guide on how to evaluate and critically compare the pros and the cons of different visualisation tools used for analysis Three specific take- aways audience can be guaranteed to get from this session Objectives of the presentation

3 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Fundamental rules for good visualizationChoosing the right visualization tool Key mistakes to avoidSome powerful visualizations Outline of the presentation

4 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 FUNDAMENTAL RULES FOR GOOD VISUALIZATION

5 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Rule No.1: Know your target audience and customize accordingly When compiling a report, it is always critical to know your audience and what will this information be used for Are you talking to: your senior executive management (strategic level), your middle management (tactical level) or the general workforce (operational level employees)? Are you attending: a financial workshop, a sales conference, an engineering seminar? Visualization Think about the message that you are trying to convey Don't try to do everything with one visualization Emphasize what you are trying to say to the audience, and don't bury the key messages in a mass of detail Different audiences may need different visualizations Different people want to see different things Use thorough labelling when needed but remember that the graphic should speak for itself

6 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Rule No.2: Accurately represent the data "The representation of numbers as physically measured on the surface of the graphic itself should be directly proportional to the numerical quantities represented" Clear, detailed and thorough labelling should be used. Write out explanations of the data on the graphic itself, and label important events in the data. The visualization should show the underlying data without distortion.

7 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Rule No.3: Keep it clear "The purpose of visualization is insight, not pictures" (Schneiderman) The graphic should focus on the message(s) for the audience, and all visual clutter kept to a minimum Remove unnecessary non-data related information ("will this visualization suffer any loss of meaning or impact for the audience if this element is taken out?")

8 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 CHOOSING THE RIGHT VISUALIZATION

9 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Bar chart One parameter (value, can be positive or negative, but ideally not to much spread between values, no rule of what a reasonable spread would be) Allows for comparison amongst a limited number of categories (regions in this example) Ideal in situations with a limited number of data points per category

10 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Line chart One parameter (amounts, can be positive or negative, but ideally not to much spread between values, no rule of what a reasonable would be) Not ideal for comparing many categories, as the chart would get quickly crowded Preferable for many data points per category

11 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Pie chart Don’t put too many items in a pie chart Alphabetical order does not help. Ideal, from largest to smallest Put % if you know the full value, otherwise put both One parameter (market share, breakdown of a population/sample) Limited amount of categories Static information (at instant t)

12 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Pie, stacked bar or area charts Market share, breakdown of a population/sample Stacked bar charts are better for larger number of categories or for indicators composed of sub- indicators. Pie-charts are not useful for comparing between data values.

13 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Pie, stacked bar or area charts For small number of data points, stacked bar charts are fine For information with many data points per category (historical trend), an area chart is probably the better option (see next slide)

14 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Pie, stacked bar or area charts

15 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Double axis mapping To avoid situations of group think and misperceptions, the parameters need to backed up by solid evidence/facts

16 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Bubble map Distance to 2012 emissions target by individual manufacturer

17 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Physical competition mapping (market coverage)

18 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Heat map A heat map can tell you a lot about your competition Just make sure to have the right parameters.

19 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Heat map

20 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Heat map World Map: Mobile phone use (2006, in percentage of the population)

21 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Spider web/Radar chart (multi parameter approach, with values)

22 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 KEY MISTAKES TO AVOID

23 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Lack of proper or measurable metrics For such slide to be helpful, the right metrics need to be chosen and measurable

24 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Overseeing better metrics If the main issue is to highlight growth over a period, it is difficult to assess and compare the growth for each of the competitors. A separate Average Growth Rate or CAGR bar graph or a additional CAGR line chart could help

25 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Not keeping the zero (or baseline) on the axis scale or not setting the base at zero

26 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Using line charts where data is only available for a small number of timepoints

27 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Using 3D where not necessary

28 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Choosing the wrong colours/patterns

29 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Things to keep in mind before implementing visualization Help the audience think about the important message(s) from the data, rather than other details such as methodology Avoid distorting what the data have to say Present many numbers in a small space - but also emphasize the important numbers Make large data sets coherent, and encourage the audience to compare different pieces of data Reveal the data at several levels of detail, from a broad overview to the fine structure. "The Visual Display of Quantitative Information" Edward Tufte

30 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 SOME POWERFUL VISUALIZATIONS

31 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Combined bubble & bar chart

32 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Sophisticated pie chart

33 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Double layered bubble map & bar chart

34 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Multiple-layered pie chart

35 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 Combined heat map & bubble chart

36 SCIP Africa Summit | October , 2014 References The Economist The Guardian BP Global Wind Energy Council Cummins Google Images Improving Visualisation.org Contact details Christian Ndomba Senior Market Intelligence Specialist Cummins Power Generation