Module 02 Summary

What this module established

Start from the decision - it names the comparison, and without one a chart cannot be wrong, which means it cannot be right either. Every question implies exactly one comparison, and the comparison chooses the chart type.

Carry forward

• Check the total against the breakdown before charting either. Opposite movements cancel, and a flat line can hide arbitrarily large changes.
• The same finding needs a different chart for each audience. A box plot shown to an executive committee will be misread.
• Write the brief before opening a tool. Written afterwards it justifies whatever you happened to build.

Before moving on

Move on when you have turned a vague request into a brief with a decision, a comparison and a normalised measure.

Mark complete