10 Kinds of Stories to Tell with Data

by Tom Davenport

http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/05/10-kinds-of-stories-to-tell-with-data/

“For almost a decade I have heard that good quantitative analysts can “tell a story with data.” Narrative is—along with visual analytics—an important way to communicate analytical results to non-analytical people. Very few people would question the value of such stories, but just knowing that they work is not much help to anyone trying to master the art of analytical storytelling. What’s needed is a framework for understanding the different kinds of stories that data and analytics can tell. If you don’t know what kind of story you want to tell, you probably won’t tell a good one.”

Practically speaking, there are four key dimensions that determine the type of story you can tell with data and analytics: time, focus, depth, methods.

1. a reporting story
2. explanatory survey stories
3. prediction stories
4. a what story
5. a why story
6. a how to address the issue story
7.  analytical stories
8. “Eureka” stories
9. a correlation story
10. a causation story

Follow the link for more.

Stephen