Thriving with data visualization at KMWorld Connect 2020

Data visualization tools are helpful for those who either think visually, want to present data to people in more innovative ways, or think more creatively.

At KMWorld Connect 2020 Ron Arons, president, LegalDataViz discussed the “Data Visualization Tool Landscape.”

KMWorld Connect, November 16-19, and its co-located events, covers future-focused strategies, technologies, and tools to help organizations transform for positive outcomes.

Data visualization tools have been around for decades. They have no notion of things or concepts and they are designed to make complex data sets easily understandable, he said.

Mind maps have been used for decades in corporate America as well as by writers, attorneys, and educators. Mind maps and other related tools are especially helpful in laying out and organizing unstructured data, according to Arons.

Mind maps and concept maps/network graphs are used for brain storming, laying out unstructured data, and timelines.

“Mind maps are similar to various star formations found in nature,” Arons said.

An example of mind map basics is a family tree, he said, with topics and sub topics. Another example is for an identity problem for 5 unrelated men with the same name.

“I think of mind maps as a way to solve puzzles,” Arons said.

Mind maps can include as much or as little information the user needs inside bubbles that can be expanded if necessary. Photos can also be added.

Concept maps/network graphs can model constellations of things. Some examples include the internet, Facebook, the human brain, he explained.

Arons recently put together a concept map/network graph to perform COVID-19 contact tracing. He used the White House as an example to explain it.

Data visualization is helpful for displaying complex data relationships, it shows connects in a very digestible manner, he said.