Parallel Sets
Robert Kosara | UNC Charlotte |
Caroline Ziemkiewicz | UNC Charlotte |
F. Joseph Mako III | Mako Metrics |
Jonathan Miles | Gloucestershire County Council |
Kam Tin Seong | Singapore Management University |
Published: October, 2009
Full article |
Summary of the Tool
Parallel Sets (ParSets) is a visualization application for categorical data, like census and survey data, inventory, and many other kinds of data that can be summed up in a cross-tabulation. ParSets provide a simple, interactive way to explore and analyze such data.
Summary of its Impact
The authors provide three concrete examples of impact
Service Awareness Campaign
Gloucestershire County Council used the tool to analyze questionnaire data from a study on the success of an advertising campaign they had recently run. Parallel Sets allowed for the easy comparison of different questions on a single graph which greatly improved what could be seen from previously used pie chart visualizations. The authorities used Parallel Sets to present the data and are planning further campaigns based on their results.
Record Cleanup
Mako Metrics used Parallel Sets during a data cleanup session. It helped them to get a new view of their steps and to plan which steps to take during the cleanup.
Bank Customer Profiling
Researchers from Singapore Management University used Parallel Sets to understand the income and education profiles of bank customers and how these relate to products offered by the bank. The tool encouraged bank analysts to combine analytics with their intuition to develop a more informed marketing strategy.
Links
Copyright of article and images belongs to the author or his employer