Writing Homework Help

Your assignment is to

• pick one source Article/Visualization from the website (http://www.makeovermonday.co.uk/data/)
• study the source Article/Visualization in detail
• download the data associated with the source Article/Visualization
• recreate the visualizations (reverse-engineer) using Tableau
• copy the output from Tableau into a Ms Word document (or other word processor), include brief comments accompanying your visualizations at the appropriate sections to mimic the reports
• the final report should closely resemble the source Article/Visualization and should be in a PDF file format
• Create a 3 to 4 minute video describing your reverse engineering process
• Submit your final report in PDF file format to Blackboard. Include the link for your YouTube video in the comments area when you make your submission.

Your final report should closely resemble the report and visualizations you are reverse engineering. You don’t need all the details….but just enough text to show that you understand how to integrate visualizations and text to generate a comprehensive well formatted report.

Additionally, make sure it is easy for your readers to pick the key information from your reports. A picture is worth a thousand words….or so the saying goes. Aim for quality and not quantity in your visualizations. Remember, the TMT (Top Management Team) members have limited time to wade through detailed reports and thus you should aim at capturing their attention ASAP.

To copy/capture the screenshots of your Tableau output into a word processor program (e.g. Ms Word document) you can use the free “snipping tool” on your computer. Use the search section on your device (click the windows logo on the bottom left corner) and enter snipping tool. If not sure how to use the snipping tool, google is a good friend. I also use the MS Word Screen Clipping function:https://support.office.com/en-us/article/insert-a-screenshot-or-screen-clipping-56ade2ac-7285-4e7b-a0b1-40646b275703

The video must be of the Tableau screen with the cursor moving around as you explain what you are doing. This is a “how to” video. You do not need a webcam, I don’t want to see your charming countenance.

I recommend that you create the video using Screencast-O-Matic: http://screencast-o-matic.com/home. You can also use your Smartphone or other mobile device to create the video, for example just point the camera on your Smartphone towards your computer, make the video and upload it to your computer.

Upload your video to YouTube. You need to have a Gmail account. Once you are logged on, follow the prompts. After your video is uploaded, a link that you can post on Blackboard will be created.

WikiHow (n.d.), How to Upload a Video to YouTube.

It is important to make the privacy setting for your videos public or unlisted. If you set a video to private, I will not be able to access it. See: Studio 300 Blog, March 11, 2014, Private vs. Unlisted on YouTube.

The following excerpt from the textbook Business Intelligence: A Managerial Perspective on Analytics may be helpful to you.

• Think of your analysis as a Story – Use a Story Structure
• When crafting a data-rich story, the first objective is to find the story. Who are the characters? What is the drama or challenge? What hurdles have to be overcome? And at the end of your story, what do you want your audience to do as a result?
• Once you know the core story, craft your other story elements: define your characters, understand the challenge, identify the hurdles, and crystallize the outcome or decision question. Make sure you are clear with what you want people to do as a result. This will shape how your audience will recall your story. With the story elements in place, write out the storyboard, which represents the structure and form of your story. Although it’s tempting to skip this step, it is better first to understand the story you are telling and then to focus on the presentation structure and form. Once the storyboard is in place, the other elements will fall into place. The storyboard will help you to think about the best analogies or metaphors, to clearly set up challenge or opportunity, and to finally see the flow and transitions needed. The story board also helps you focus on key visuals (graphs, charts, and graphics) that you need your executives to recall.
• In summary, don’t be afraid to use data to tell great stories. Being factual, detail oriented, and data driven is critical in today’s metric-centric world, but it does not have to mean being boring and lengthy. In fact, by finding the real stories in your data and following the best practices, you can get people to focus on your message – and thus on what’s important. Here are those best practices:

1. Think of our analysis as a story – use a story structure.

2. Be authentic – your story will flow.

3. Be visual – think of yourself as a film editor.

4. Make it easy for your audience and you.

5. Invite and direct discussion.

Sharda, R., Dursun D., and Efraim T. Business Intelligence: A Managerial Perspective on Analytics. Prentice Hall Press, 2013, page 117

It is not necessary for you to create a storyboard, you must make a compelling presentation however.