USER EXPERIENCE, INTERFACE, AND INTERACTION DESIGN
Data Storytelling
Transform complex data into meaningful narratives that inform, persuade, and engage an audience.
The Challenge
The project involved working with small cohorts of regional workforce boards to understand their data, systems and processes to find comparisons. We then defined a set of strategic themes of value across cohorts to uncover multi-regional outcomes and insights. We built a pilot site to tell data stories across workforce regions to learn what the possibilities might be to do this on a grander scale.
Users / Audiences
For the purposes of the project, our cohort partners, the regional workforce boards, were the primary audience. But the data storytelling website is publicly shared.
Scope and Constraints
The project was scheduled to run for 2 years, starting with a very small team and adding team members along the way. We were constrained by data governance agreements, availability of our cohorts, and the challenge of finding comparable data sets across cohorts that could be aggregated.
Organizations
JFFLabs, Brighthive, Google.org (funder)
My Role
UX Lead, Product Manager
Date / Duration
Sep 2020 - Jul 2022
The Process
We needed to find the right data themes.
Using the data shared by our workforce partners leveraging our data story framework to aid in the identification of stories of high value for the project, we made a data storytelling plan. You can read more about that process on on the data story definition project page.
We made a plan for how to use the stories.
Our plan included a telling data-backed insight story and designing a set of exploratory dashboard.
I created a wireframe to mock-up the flow of information
This was essential to communicate clearly with our BI analyst what he needed to create in the data visualization tool, Domo, that we could embed in the site.
I designed and built the site.
I create a small site and worked with my project team to populate it with the content and context needed to support the data stories.
I collaborated to produce the data visualizations.
I worked with our BI analyst to refine the graphs and dashboards he produced for the site so they would coordinate effectively and stay within solid accessibility standards.
We ran into a technical problem with our Domo embeds.
We used iframe technology to embed the graphs and dashboards created with the BI tool, Domo, into the site and we ran into the common issue of cross-domain communication: the graphs were not resizing properly with browser resizing.
I reached out to Domo support.
They provided a script to help with cross domain-communication which solved the problem mostly for larger screen sizes. For the purposes of our pilot, this was an acceptable result.
We validated our site with our cohort workforce boards.
I presented the site in multiple meetings with our cohorts to get their feedback. A couple boards were concerned that the information we were able to aggregate across regions was too thin when telling the story of one region. Since the site was intended to be public, they were reasonably sensitive with how their work would be represented. We negotiated a disclaimer message on pages displaying data to provide up-front context for viewers, and got approval to release the site.
Outcomes and Learning
We learned sharing data across regions is a large and difficult problem.
The same security that protects data in the workforce system made it difficult for our project to access it easily. Although we had success proving the idea, there needs to be more work done around the methodology to pave a path forward.
People loved our data stories.
After the site launched, we received good feedback from JFF partners and collaborators.
The Challenge
My role, with my team, was to support and elevate data literacy and methodology among grantees, leveraging peer-learning as much as possible. As part of this role, I was asked to conduct a breakout session at the 2024 Good Jobs Challenge convening in Washington D.C. on a subject of my choosing within the area of data and evaluation.
Users / Audiences
Session attendees were Grantees of the Good Jobs Challenge during the 2024 convening in Washington D.C.
Scope and Constraints
Breakout sessions were scheduled to be 45 minutes long and needed to stay within that time span as scheduling was tight. Subjects and session outlines needed to be approved ahead of time by the EDA.
Organizations
JFF
My Role
Data and Evaluation Support Team
Date / Duration
Aug 2022 - Jan 2025
My Process
My team met to consider ideas and presenters
I proposed a data storytelling session that would focus on the basic building blocks for telling a strong story with data. I was elected by the team to develop my idea and be the presenter at the session.
We had budget for 2 people.
We had a junior team member who liked to challenge himself and gain more skills and experience. I suggested he join me as co-presenter and he agreed.
Our session idea was approved.
I created an outline and description and submitted it to the EDA for approval. As I waited to hear back, I fleshed it out.
I reached out to a Good Jobs Challenge grantee.
I wanted to use real data that would be familiar with grantees and be easy for them to work with for the breakout activity I had planned. Also, the EDA encouraged peer support, so I reached out to one of the grantees and asked them to allow us to use some of their publicly available program data and to join us in the session in case the audience had questions about the data.
We had technical problems (of course).
We were the first breakout session of the day so I got to the room early to check the presentation equipment and found I needed to call technical support as I wan't able to get it working properly. One faulty cable later, and all was well—and just in time.
The presentation went better than I expected.
People were attentive, the breakout activity was full of energy, and the extended data stories people created were really good. We had fun.
Outcomes and Learning
We received complimentary feedback.
Attendees seemed pleased at the end of the session and there were a few data analysts in the room who came up to the front and complimented us.
I learned my co-presenter had natural talent as a presenter.
He presented a cheerful and calm demeanor with natural charisma and proved to be a great addition for the session.
I was asked to present again.
We received great feedback from representatives of the EDA. They asked me to do a second virtual presentation open to all program grantees to reach a larger audience than we had during the convening.
