Designing Data Visualizations

with Empathy

Amanda Makulec, MPH

Visual Analytics Advisor | John Snow Inc.

Let’s take a trip

to Zimbabwe.

Where a local organization uses

community scorecards to capture

quarterly data on health services

in 18 communities.

The team aggregates

and analyzes the data.

They needed to identify who can use the data and how that person wants to have the data presented and shared.

empathy “walking in someone else’s shoes”

Design thinking gives us tools to cultivate empathy.

Graphic: Hasso Plattner Institute of Design Stanford University

Credit to ThinkPlace Foundation, from the Innovations for Maternal,

Newborn & Child Health Initiative’s Care Community Hub

Personas Journey

Maps

Today, we’ll walk through a rapid overview of two design thinking

techniques you can use in data visualization design.

personas design toolbox #1

Personas help us move beyond

job titles

stakeholder groups

organization names

and focus on the human side of

your audience.

Each persona represents a significant portion of

people in the real world and enables the designer to

focus on a manageable and memorable cast of

characters, instead of focusing on thousands of

individuals.”

“A persona is depicted as a specific

person but is not a real individual;

rather, it is synthesized from

observations of many people.

From:

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2014/08

/a-closer-look-at-personas-part-1/

Identify your

stakeholder group(s).

District Health Executive Team

for example

Capture data on your

stakeholder group.

Analytical ability Job function Education

Programmatic knowledge Access to tools

Motivations to use data Pain points Interests

Where they access information Champion or opposition

Talking directly to members of your

audience gives you the greatest insight

into their wants, needs, and pain points.

If you’ve worked with this stakeholder

group before, you can also brainstorm

based on experience.

Identify 2-3 different

“personas” within each

stakeholder group.

District Health Executive Team

The Technocrat

The Politician

segmented to

Name your personas &

give them stories.

District Health Executive Team

Rachel The Technocrat

Pascal The Politician

segmented to

Credit to ThinkPlace Foundation, from the Innovations for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health

Initiative’s Care Community Hub

Identify common

characteristics and

differences

Wants

stories

Wants

numbers

Motivated

by passion Motivated

by money

Act based

on feelings Act based

on data

Resilient

problem solver

Frustrated

bureaucrat

Champion for

your issue

Oppose your

issue

Wants

stories

Wants

numbers

Motivated

by passion Motivated

by money

Act based

on feelings Act based

on data

Resilient

problem solver

Frustrated

bureaucrat

Champion for

your issue

Oppose your

issue

Rachel

the Technocrat

Pascal

the Politician

journey map

design toolbox #2

Creating a journey map is an excellent way to

systematically think about the steps or milestones

of a process, and can be used in developing

empathy and in communicating about your work.1

You can use the steps on the journey map to

identify pain points for your data user that can be

transformed into opportunities for you in sharing

your data.

1 Definition from https://dschool-old.stanford.edu/groups/k12/wiki/d8073/Journey_Map.html

Pick a persona.

Map out the various (ideal)

steps that person takes

in making a decision.

Pascal The Politician

Community

scorecard data is

collected in

Pascal’s district

Pascal takes action

with the district

supply chain team

to identify root

causes of the issue

Analysis shows

4 clinics in

Pascal’s district

have stockouts

of condoms

Pascal is

unaware of the

stockouts

NGO meets

with Pascal in

his office to

share the data

Pascal shares the

issue with the

District Health

Executive Team

The DHE checks the

logistics information

system and sees the

stockouts were not

reported

I am aware… I think about my options… I decide… I seek… I receive… I share…

Use a set of

prompts if you’re

having trouble

mapping out steps

Identify the pain points

along that journey.

Pascal The Politician

Community

scorecard data is

collected in

Pascal’s district

Pascal takes action

with the district

supply chain team

to identify root

causes of the issue

Analysis shows

4 clinics in

Pascal’s district

have stockouts

of condoms

Pascal is

unaware of the

stockouts

NGO meets

with Pascal in

his office to

share the data

Pascal shares the

issue with the

District Health

Executive Team

The DHE checks the

logistics information

system and sees the

stockouts were not

reported

Pascal has limited

time and needs

something short he

can easily share

with other DHE

members

The DHE may see

no stockouts in

their system and

doubt the accuracy

of the community

data

Identify how you will

address each pain point.

Pascal The Politician

Community

scorecard data is

collected in

Pascal’s district

Pascal takes action

with the district

supply chain team

to identify root

causes of the issue

Analysis shows

4 clinics in

Pascal’s district

have stockouts

of condoms

Pascal is

unaware of the

stockouts

NGO meets

with Pascal in

his office to

share the data

Pascal shares the

issue with the

District Health

Executive Team

The DHE checks the

logistics information

system and sees the

stockouts were not

reported

Pascal has limited

time and needs

something short he

can easily share

with other DHE

members

The DHE may see

no stockouts in

their system and

doubt the accuracy

of the community

data

NGO creates a

one page brief

summarizing the

data and recs

NGO adds a spot

check of stock-

on-hand to the

scorecard

process

Works well… In a workshop setting to

brainstorm audience needs

In coaching teams on ways

to explore their audience.

To focus on primary

audience needs when

mapping a dissemination

plan with multiple

deliverables

In designing dashboards and

other interactive

visualization tools

Favorite Resources for Diving in on Design Thinking

• Stanford d. School Bootcamp Bootleg

dschool.stanford.edu/resources

• IDEO Design Kit

ideo.com/post/design-kit

Amanda Buenz Makulec

amanda_makulec@jsi.com

@abmakulec

Follow @jsihealth