data visualization interview questions: 38 Data Visualization Interview Questions (Sample Answers)

Introduction

Data visualization is an essential skill for any data scientist. It’s also one of the most difficult skills to master. For example, when you’re faced with a new dataset, how do you know what type of visualization is appropriate? Do you use a bar chart or pie chart? And once you’ve made your choice, how can you ensure that your work is being shared and used by others in an effective way? In this post we’ve put together some questions about data visualization that will help hiring managers get at what it is like working on projects in this field. These questions are intended to be useful for anyone interviewing candidates who have worked on these types of problems before but they could also be used just as easily by people who are looking to get into data science but have never worked on these types of projects before..

1. Describe a time where you faced a data visualization problem and how you solved it?

The first thing to do is to describe the problem that was faced, as well as some context around it. How did this particular situation come up? What were the circumstances under which it arose? The next step is to explain how you went about solving it: what steps did you take and why did those steps work so well for this particular case? It’s important not only that we understand what happened, but also why it happened (and what could have been done differently). Finally, tell us how others reacted when they saw your solution–did they like your approach or could they see ways in which it could be improved upon in future projects?

2. What is the difference between a bar chart and a pie chart?

A bar chart is a graph that represents data in the form of bars, showing the frequency or relative frequency of the data. The length of each bar corresponds to the value it represents and can be either horizontal or vertical (bar charts are sometimes called bar graphs).

A pie chart is a circular graph divided into sectors, showing the proportion of a whole. They are often used to illustrate percentages in statistics, but they can also show other kinds of information such as frequencies within categories or numbers/percentages themselves

3. How would you visualize information about the gender pay gap in your country, if any?

There are many ways to visualize this data. Here are some of the most common:

• Bar chart
• Histogram
• Scatterplot
• Heat map (or hexagon plot)

You might also consider using a box plot, violin plot, funnel plot or box and whisker diagram.

4. What are some ways that you have created visualizations of hierarchical data?

• Use a treemap.
• Use a dendrogram.
• Use a heatmap (or even better, an hexagon binning heatmap).
• Try out the sunburst chart in Tableau Public, or make your own with custom parameters and set it up as an interactive chart in Excel.

You can also use choropleth maps for hierarchical data, but those are tricky to get right!

5. How do you design for an audience with little to no technical knowledge of data science, machine learning or data analysis?

You can design for an audience with little to no technical knowledge of data science, machine learning or data analysis by using simple language, visual metaphors and storytelling.

• Use simple language. You can make your report easier to understand by using plain English instead of technical terminology. For example: “The model predicts a high probability (70%) that this customer will buy product X.” Instead of saying “The model predicts with 70% confidence…”
• Use visual metaphors. A metaphor is a comparison between two things that are not alike but share some common characteristics. Metaphors help people understand complex ideas in ways they already know well; they’re easier than explaining concepts from scratch every time they come up in conversation or writing! For example: If we were talking about a weather forecast as compared to traffic congestion on the highway during rush hour (both things happen at different times), then we could say something like this: “If you want me not to arrive late for work tomorrow morning when there’s an ice storm coming through town overnight tonight…then please don’t call me at 4am tomorrow morning asking if I want breakfast before work like always because there won’t be any way possible besides walking outside barefoot through puddles full of freezing raindrops while having no idea how cold it actually feels outside yet until after stepping foot outside ourselves…”

6. How do you get feedback on your visualizations from someone who can’t tell you specifically what’s wrong with them, such as an executive who doesn’t know how to code or your average consumer?

There are a number of ways to get feedback on your visualizations from someone who can’t tell you specifically what’s wrong with them, such as an executive who doesn’t know how to code or your average consumer.

• Use a design studio: This is where people come together in small groups and discuss their ideas while they’re being sketched out on paper. This helps everyone get on the same page visually so they can see if there are any gaps in their thinking before moving forward with their ideas.
• Use focus groups: If it’s difficult for someone outside of your team (like an executive) to give feedback on what needs improvement, try asking them questions about why they did or didn’t like something about the visualization–and then use that information as part of your next iteration! For example: “What do you think this chart could show me that would help me better understand how much money we’re spending?”

7. How do you know when something needs more information or needs to be simplified?

The best way to understand what information is missing and what needs to be simplified is to use the five whys technique. The five whys technique is a question-asking process used in problem solving and root cause analysis that helps identify the source of problems by repeating “why” five times.

The first time you ask why, you want to get at the core issue behind a problem; this should result in an answer like “because we don’t have enough people on staff.” The second time around, ask “why don’t we have enough people on staff?” Your answer will probably be something like “because our company has grown so quickly that we need more employees.” Continue asking why until you’ve reached some sort of limit–whether it’s because there isn’t any solution or because no one knows how else they could solve this issue. Once this point has been reached (or if there was never one), then go back through all those answers again and look for any commonalities between them: perhaps all four solutions involve hiring additional employees or adding more machines? If so–great! Now use these findings when deciding which solution will work best for your company based on budget constraints etc..

8. What is effective storytelling through visualization; how do we convey complex ideas to strangers in ways that they find compelling?

Data visualization is about conveying complex ideas in a way that’s easy to understand. This means you need to make sure that your visualizations are clear and easy for the reader to follow. Don’t overcomplicate things; use simple charts that highlight the most important information.

Also, consider using different types of visualizations depending on what type of data you’re working with. For example, if you have a lot of quantitative data (like numbers), then bar charts or line graphs might be best suited for your needs; but if it’s qualitative (a survey), then pie charts could work well too!

Conclusion

In summary, data visualization is a powerful tool that can be used for many different purposes. It allows us to communicate complex ideas in an intuitive way that is easy for people to understand, even if they have little or no knowledge of the subject matter at hand.