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By Aja Hammerly Data is a hot buzz word in the industry. Every day there are more startups with "Big Data" somewhere in their elevator pitch. There are dozens of devices to record how we sleep, what we eat, how much we exercise, even how often we breathe. Every action we take online generates data that is stored and analyzed. Understanding all this data can be difficult. Humans aren't designed to see patterns in thousands of lines of json or XML. We are good at seeing patterns in pictures, graphs, diagrams, and spots in the underbrush. Often a simple visualization is what you need to understand a problem. In this talk, I'll demonstrate tools that you can use to quickly generate "back-of-the-envelope" visualizations from a variety of data sets. Help us caption & translate this video! http://amara.org/v/FG8U/
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In her talk titled 'Seeing the Big Picture: Quick and Dirty Data Visualization with Ruby' at GoGaRuCo 2013, Aja Hammerly emphasizes the importance of data visualization for understanding complex datasets in a user-friendly manner. With the rise of data-centric applications and organizations, the ability to depict data through visual means becomes essential. Aja illustrates that while data is crucial for making informed decisions, communicating findings through text-heavy reports often lacks clarity. Therefore, simplifying this information into visual formats can help convey complex ideas more effectively. Key points discussed include: - **Understanding Data Visualization**: The presentation highlights how humans are naturally adept at recognizing patterns in images rather than in raw data formats like JSON or XML. Simple visualizations can reveal insights about a problem quickly. - **Communicating with Non-Technical Stakeholders**: Aja provides a fictional scenario that demonstrates how data visualization aids in communicating technical issues with non-technical team members, making it easier for everyone involved to grasp the central issues quickly. - **Tools for Visualization**: She introduces several tools for creating quick visualizations, emphasizing speed and efficiency: - **Graph Gem**: An easy-to-use library that integrates with Graphviz to create graphs such as Ruby exceptions, Rails associations, and dependency diagrams. Visually representing these structures enhances understanding and communication. - **Highcharts**: A versatile JavaScript library useful for creating a variety of charts (e.g. line, bar, pie) for web environments, allowing for displays that make data comparisons and trends clear. The setup involves basic HTML and JavaScript knowledge, making it accessible for developers. - **Data Extraction Techniques**: For handling various data formats, Aja highlights tools like Nokogiri for parsing HTML/XML and Ruby's built-in functionality for handling JSON/CSV formats, demonstrating the importance of data preparation for effective visualization. - **Example Case Study**: Aja shares a hands-on example of building a curriculum graph using screen-scraped data from a college’s course description page. She illustrates the process of data extraction and normalization using Nokogiri, leading to the creation of a visual representation of course prerequisites. In conclusion, Aja Hammerly stresses that effective data visualization not only aids in understanding complex datasets but also enhances communication between technical and non-technical audiences. The quicker and simpler the visual representation, the more impactful it can be in making informed decisions based on data.
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