Collaborative Data Visualization Company Observable Launches Templates

SAN FRANCISCO, May 25, 2021 — Observable, a collaborative data visualization company, founded by data veteran Mike Bostock, creator of the popular data visualization library D3.js, and engineering leader Melody Meckfessel, former vice president at Google, today launched Observable Templates, packaged data visualization use-case templates that put collaborative data exploration and decision-making in reach for any business user.

“Visualization helps us see and understand information in new ways, fundamentally changing our understanding of the world. By expanding data exploration beyond dataviz experts, Observable enables business users to work with data and gain insights leading to improved business outcomes and decision-making,” said Meckfessel. “With any new technology it can be difficult at first to envision its applicability to daily life. With real-world examples of data visualization, Observable Templates facilitates how people think with data to make decisions — faster and collaboratively.”

Templates do not require expertise in data visualization techniques or intervention from a data professional. Users start with a template relevant to their needs, such as analyzing business projection targets versus actual results. Data is entered into the template that generates visual representations to help with analysis and insights. The templates can be updated and shared with other teammates to facilitate collaboration in the analysis and decision-making process. Templates are reactive and support built-in interaction, so charts and dashboards can be customized and enhanced to suit teams’ unique needs.

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“Observable Templates lower the barrier to creating useful, flexible data visualizations,” said Steve Prewitt, head of digital innovation at Sumitovant. “For Observable veterans, it helps them get started faster. For dataviz novices, it can be the difference between getting something out the door and struggling with SVG (scalable vector graphics). And that brings the power and flexibility of command-line D3 closer to the fingertips of our business’s experts.”

The Observable platform enables users to perform ad hoc exploratory analysis and build custom, expressive, and interactive dashboards while collaborating with a global community of thousands of contributors. Today, users can start with Observable Templates for:

• Business Planning
  • Hiring Timeline with Cash Flow projections
  • Projections: Targets vs Actuals
  • Startup Operating Model
• User Research
  • User Research Survey Explorer
• Product Insights
  • User Retention Dashboard
• Developer Workflows
  • Github Integration Test: Job Latency
  • Github Integration Test: Flakiness
• Remote Work
  • Agenda Trackers
  • Team Breakouts Helper

“Our data team at StitchFix has been using Observable for collaborative data analysis for a while,” said Tarek Rached, director of Algo UI at Stitch Fix. “With the addition of templates, we can bring in more cross-functional collaborators to the data-driven decision making process, with packaged use-cases that they can get started with quickly.”

“With Templates, we show the applicability of Observable in business-related workflows to make faster, collaborative, data-driven decisions. Templates provide turnkey, use case-based solutions to quickly explore data, gain insights, collaborate with teammates, and share with decision-makers — all in one interactive document,” said Deepti Srivastava, head of product at Observable. “Building any one of these could take days or weeks versus minutes with Observable Templates, allowing users to get their work done faster.”

Explore Observable Templates.

About Observable

Observable is where people can create, collaborate, and learn with data. It was founded by Mike Bostock, the author of D3.js, and Melody Meckfessel, with the mission of helping everyone make sense of the world with data. Observable is a Series A startup headquartered in San Francisco, California. https://observablehq.com/

Source: Observable