Looking for a credentialed person to assist with critique of a heat map design.

[FerdH4]

I have a report with a heat map visualization which is causing very serious confusion across much of the intended audience.  I did not create the report - a peer did.

I'd like to explain to my peer why the report might be causing confusion.  I believe there is at least one and likely two design flaws.

Is there any forum user with relevant credentials (so I can substantiate that the input is valid and external) who is willing to take a gross look at one example of the heat map and provide input?

[dougp]

I can't imagine what "credential" would be helpful in this area.  Pick up some books by Ed Tufte.


Possible causes of confusion:

Low information resolution.  This is basically what people do in PowerPoint.  Data is so highly summarized it's meaningless because there is insufficient context.

Choosing the wrong visualization to present the information.  If basic sorting doesn't show patterns, maybe a heat map is not the appropriate visualization.  For example, looking at Cognos report usage counts, I see that my busiest times are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., usage ramps up at 6 a.m. and drops off at 5 p.m., and Friday afternoons are really slow.  This pops out quickly on a heat map with day of week along the top and hour of day along the left side.  You'd get the same thing with traffic volumes, electricity usage, water usage -- with the same axes.  There are several versions of a visualization that looks basically like https://dataschool.com/assets/images/how-to-design-a-dashboard/find_the_best_chart_for_your_metrics/visualizationWeb.png that shows which type of viz to use when.  But you must not follow such a recommendation blindly.  You should also consider the outputs your data presents through these options and whether or not the viz you have chosen tells a clear story.

Confusing colors.  Does blue = hot and red = cold?  Do some of your report viewers suffer from some form of colorblindness?

[FerdH4]

Thanks dougp for your comments.  They are helpful and in fact one of the axis on my heat map is in fact an "Hour" (of the day) column.  So, you're example was perfect.

I was thinking someone like a "data scientist" or maybe a "statistician" might bite on my ask.