​

Spreker: Prof Johan Louw (Stellenbosch Universiteit - Departement Logistiek) 

Titel: “Visual Data Analytics” – are your visuals providing clarity and insight or more confusion?

Summary: Today, quantitative and qualitative data is produced at an incredible rate. The ability to collect and store the data is also increasing at a faster rate than the ability to analyse it. Some of the sources of the data could be the application of relevant research methods (e.g. surveys, secondary data repositories, field sensory instruments), and/or data available in the public domain (e.g. socio-economic, macroeconomic, weather, traffic) and/or private data that businesses keep in their transactional systems. 

Trying to make sense of this ever-growing volume of data becoming available, experts in data analysis would first use “self-help" visual exploration tools to understand what is in a dataset and the characteristics of the data and how different datasets can interrelate, rather than using traditional structured data management systems or immediately postulating and testing hypotheses. “Visual Analytics" has developed as an approach (some view it as a science) of analytical reasoning supported by interactive visual interfaces. Building on this, “Data Visualization" is a collection of methods that use a variety of visual representations to explore, make sense of, and communicate quantitative and qualitative data (moving from data, to information, to insight … FAST!!).

Over the last decades, a large number of automated data analysis methods have developed. However, the complex nature of many problems (e.g. as a result of supply chains expanding globally) makes it indispensable to include human intelligence at an early stage in the data analysis process. Using advanced visual interfaces, people can now directly interact with the data analysis capabilities of today's computer, allowing them to make more informed decisions in complex situations.