Good Data Visualisation - Who Are IBCS?

We know that data and business intelligence is a company's "gold", but the presentation of data in visualisations is not something that is explicitly taught to us in schools. How do we ensure that we convey the insights we find in the data to others in the most succinct and clear way? Communicating data is an area that I am passionate about and I continue to look for ways to be more clear and consistent in my data analysis presentations.

On LinkedIn, I stumbled upon the International Business Communications Standards (IBCS) who are a not-for-profit organisation that offer practical guidelines for the design and implementation of reports, presentations, dashboards, and the visual representation of business data. The IBCS standards focus on making data communication more effective and understandable, by standardising the chart and table design with a clear, consistent approach that enables better decision-making.

You can grab a free copy of their IBCS Standards PDF from their website which is a bible when it comes to recognised "rules" to better data visualisation. Currently, version 1.2 is the latest copy and you can find more here: https://www.ibcs.com/ibcs-standards-1-2/

The key elements of IBCS include:

Consistency: Promoting a consistent use of terminology, formats, and data visualisation methods across all forms of business communication.
Simplification: Reducing complexity in data presentation to focus on the essential information needed for decision-making.
Focus: Highlighting important data points, trends, and deviations to draw attention to the most relevant information.
Comparability: Ensuring data from different sources or time periods can be easily compared through standardised scales and formats.
Integration: Combining textual explanations with visual data presentations to create a coherent narrative.
Efficiency: Designing reports and presentations in a way that they can be quickly understood and acted upon by the audience.