Module 02 Activity

Scenario

Someone has asked you for 'a dashboard of the sales data'. Turn that into something that can be right or wrong.

What you build

A chart brief for a real request, with the decision, the comparison and the measure all decided before any tool is opened.

Steps

1. Go back to the requester and establish the decision. Write it as a sentence containing a choice.
2. Name the audience, what they already know, and what they will decide.
3. Write the question, then the comparison it implies. Check the comparison is not before-and-after when it should be treated-against-comparable.
4. Decide the measure, including any normalisation needed to make the comparison fair.
5. Check the aggregation: compute the total and the breakdown, and confirm they tell the same story.
6. Write the takeaway sentence and the known limits.

Evidence to hand in

• The decision as a sentence containing a choice.
• The audience with what they know and what they decide.
• The question and the comparison it implies.
• The measure with any normalisation justified.
• The total-versus-breakdown check.
• The completed brief.

Review checklist

• The decision names a choice, not a topic.
• The comparison follows from the question rather than from the data layout.
• The measure is normalised where the comparison would otherwise be unfair.
• The total was checked against the breakdown.
• The takeaway sentence is a claim containing a figure.

Mark complete