Data Analytics
Sheet music and construction plans are just two examples where notation has existed for ages. But what about a notation concept in reporting? Is this still possible at all, or has the right time been missed? I wanted to get to the bottom of this question.
I have been working in the front-end area for several years now and realise reports and dashboards on a daily basis according to the specifications of various customers. These specifications vary from customer to customer and differ not only in content, but also in appearance and design. This is exactly where the problem begins, which has existed unconsciously for years. There are no standards, norms or benchmarks for the visual or content design of reports. But this is precisely where the "International Business Communication Standards", or "IBCS®" for short, could provide a remedy.
These standards were established by Prof Rolf Hichert and Dr Jürgen Faisst and are freely available for everyone to use as a Creative Commons project. You can find more information about the two people under "Sources".
The IBCS Association is committed to the ongoing review and further development of the International Business Communication Standards. As a non-profit organisation, it publishes the standards for free use and ensures extensive consultation and discussion prior to the publication of new versions. This includes the worldwide endeavours for the expression of public opinion.
Version 1.1 was approved by the active members at the General Assembly on 1 June 2017 in Barcelona. Over 80 professionals from 12 countries took part in the annual conference. At the beginning of 2019, the IBCS Association had over 2,000 members from more than 50 countries.
The IBCS® standards are based on Rolf Hichert's SUCCESS formula, which has been known since 2004. The formula is based on the ideas of well-known communication experts such as Edward Tufte and Barbara Minto.
The following seven overarching rules are proposed for written business communication (e.g. reports, statistics):
These seven control groups form the three pillars of the IBCS standards:
The first pillar is formed by the conceptual design rules SAY and STRUCTURE: The content should have an understandable message for the recipient and be clearly structured. These two groups of rules are generally valid and of particular importance:
These two rule groups SAY and STRUCTURE initially have nothing to do with questions of visualisation; they apply to presentations in political committees just as much as to radio reports: In both cases, no diagrams are available.
There is a connection with visualisation when the visualisation is intended to convey important messages.
The second pillar is formed by the design rules that affect visual perception. Following the four groups of rules EXPRESS, SIMPLIFY, CONDENSE and CHECK makes it easier to fulfil the requirements of SAY and STRUCTURE:
These four rule groups of the second pillar can all support the requirements of SAY and STRUCTURE - they primarily serve to reinforce the message to be conveyed.
The third pillar of the IBCS standards is formed by the semantic design rules of the UNIFY rule group. Semantic rules help to convey a clear message by using a standardised notation (IBCS notation).
A standardised semantic notation enables the recognition of business facts and thus supports the effect of the conceptual and perceptual rules.
You can find out more about SUCCESS here(opens in new tab).
A total of 98 rules are defined via the points mentioned in the SUCCESS formula. Here is a small excerpt (the excerpt comes from the IBCS poster, which is linked in the sources):
There are many examples of converting an existing chart into an IBCS-compliant chart. The best of them can be found directly on the IBCS homepage. The .PDFs available for download contain each step including an explanation of what has been optimised. For this blog I will present and explain the example "Spiegel Online, Government Bonds" in an abbreviated form.
The numbering below refers to the previous gallery and shows the steps taken.
1 This is the ACTUAL state from an article on Spiegel.de. It shows the government bonds of various countries in billions of euros.
2 The title has been added. The zero line has been clarified. All diagrams have been enlarged. Colours without meaning have been removed.
3 Manipulative X-axis was corrected and equalised. Scaling of the Y-axis carried out in all diagrams - these were then enlarged.
4 Message was formulated.
5 To increase the information density, the number of inhabitants per country was added.
6 The relationship between the number of inhabitants and the due date is shown. The message and title have been expanded and adapted.
7 Message is emphasised.
Understanding the rules and their necessity often happens very quickly. But disillusionment follows when you try to put what you have learnt into practice. Implementation with common tools such as Excel is almost impossible. Excel offers many chart types, but you will quickly realise that it will not be possible to create a bar chart according to IBCS rules.
There are currently 12 certified software solutions that are able to implement the IBCS rules. Without purchasing the appropriate software or registering for a trial version, it has not yet been possible to simply get started.
However, a free version of Chart-me is now available. You don't have to buy anything or register.
You can access the website via this link: https://chart-me.com/
There are currently 19 charts and tables available that can be customised and are ideal for promoting the IBCS standards.
The application is very simple.
This can also be exported immediately. The steps are illustrated in the following gallery:
The example shows a table with an integrated waterfall as well as absolute and relative deviations.
Chart-me also has video instructions:
How To: Chart-me.com(opens in new tab)
The benefits of notation standards for traffic signs, chess moves, weather maps and many other disciplines are obvious. They have been used for a long time and nobody would think of questioning the advantages of this standardisation. But things seem to be different in reporting: The enforcement of "corporate design standards" seems to be more important than the enforcement of "meaning standards". In addition, people want to understand the economic benefits before implementing new rules, building new reports and procuring new software.
There are 3 salient arguments that can be used when implementing notation standards:
Without investment in the development of a notation concept, in the selection of suitable software and its successful installation, as well as in training, these benefits will not be achievable. In addition, the complete revision of existing reports, dashboards, etc. is also part of the process. It therefore takes a great deal of effort to achieve a well-founded introduction of a notation standard.
To be honest, it never occurred to me to apply a notation concept across the board in the reporting area. But the more I got involved with IBCS, the more I realised how often I have created reports that could have been so much more. I fully understand and support the intention and vision of Rolf Hichert and Jürgen Faisst.
However, the biggest problem in my eyes is the current accessibility. Of course, there are now many tools that support IBCS. But they all involve additional work, no matter how small. I suspect that the really big players (Excel and co.) will have to play along first before there is a general rethink.
Let's hope that this will soon be the case.
If, after reading this article, you would like to know more about IBCS and are looking for specific advice on implementing it in your environment, please feel free to contact me. As a certified IBCS® consultant, I will be happy to provide you with advice and support.
Literature
"With SUCCESS to IBCS - Successful reports and presentations (PDF)"
Link zum IBCS Shop(opens in new tab)
"FILLED | STRAIGHT | CREATED (book)"
Link zum IBCS Shop(opens in new tab)
"Notation manual, sample template (PDF or PPT)
Link zum IBCS Shop (opens in new tab)
IBCS® Certified Consultants
Further information
«IBCS® with SUCCESS (Poster)»
Link zum IBCS Shop(opens in new tab)
IBCS auf Wikipedia
International Business Communication Standards(opens in new tab)
«IBCS Software»
https://www.ibcs.com/de/software/(opens in new tab)
Article on Spiegel.de (used under examples)
https://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/grafiken-die-wichtigsten-fakten-zur-euro-krise-fotostrecke-57391-5.html(opens in new tab)
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