http://data.vanderbilt.edu/rapache/bbplot

http://jpbi.blogspot.com/2007/07/viewing-project-data-new-options.html

Janne Pyykkö's BI Blog has an interesting post on various ways to render Gantt charts or metrics over time in efficient ways.

Here's a look at a classic Gantt chart...

How long each task runs and parallelism of tasks are very clear in this diagram, it also scales up well as you change various grains on the time axes (weeks, months, years).

But to understand resource loads, slack, cost and such you would need to look at another report.

Is there a way to marry them together?  Absolutely!  In the Gantt below, shading and embedded FTE hours show intensity and easing into new tasks, while still conveying duration.  Very cool.

Here's the same chart without the numbers and a different scale used for totals per day.

Thanks for sharing this Janne!

I'm going to try to replicate this with Reporting Services over the next week - stay tuned.

http://www.portfolio.com/infographics/2007/06/terminals

http://hotmap.msresearch.us/

This is a visualization from Microsoft Research that shows the "tiles" of imagery that people have downloaded the most. 

in hotmap, each colored square represents 1 unit of imagery, or a "tile". tiles are shown from a resolution of 74 meters-per-pixel (zoom level 11) to 0.3 meters-per-pixel (zoom level 19).

...and the same map using the fantastic 3D features of Virtual Earth...

That Legend is a nice feature.

Additionally, in 3D, the polygons are positioned close to the ground, so that buildings still appear and the map tile is discernable, but translucent so that the roads can still be seen.

http://unfluence.primate.net/

This is a cool site that shows impact and subnetworks of contribution to election campaigns.

Here's Pennsylvania's last one...Swann vs. Rendell

I found it interesting that Swann used two different Committee Networks, while Rendel uses a centralized one.

Here's a more complicated one - "Kaleeefornia" and the Governator.

Eisenhower Interstate System showing major intersection points as a network instead of a map.

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=43.079081~-79.07664&style=h&lvl=19&tilt=-35.284705763047&dir=92.244399018565&alt=258.265525468625&scene=1004125&encType=1

Some amazing new imagery has just come on line and this picture of Niagara is a great showcase of some of the great work the Virtual Earth team is doing.

If you look carefully you can see me in a barrel going over the falls. :)

If you want to read about all the steps it takes to go from sensor to web, check out this post:
http://virtualearth.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!2BBC66E99FDCDB98!8864.entry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U

I recently saw this slide presented and thought it did a great job of explaining where certain BI technologies are of their "best" use.  The idea of one stop for BI is a myth that has permeated the marketplace and this slide does a great service to those of us who have to explain the faults of the one-size fits all approach.

If you know most of a problem and the dynamics and impacts that influence it, then the bottom of the pyramid is a great place to go - KPI's/Scorecards/Standard Reports - these are great enhancements to an organization.  By surfacing these metrics galactically people can align behind many strategies and tactics to pull the company forward.

As the understanding for *why* things happen in an organization diminishes, then the top of the pyramid is important.  You are afraid of slicing and dicing because you don't understand what constraints or bias should be in play.  Data Mining and Visualization (real visualization) are exceptionally important here.

If any of you know where this slide came from, can you drop me a line and let me know who originated this graphic? 

Thanks.