Supervisors and external partners

Sponsors:

• Jeff Chen, VP of Data Science
• Magnus Gidlund, Lead Data Scientist 

Problem Domain:

One of the challenges of the data science field is developing data analyses that are intuitive enough for the target audience that they can take actions. There are various contributing factors to an audience’s understanding of an analysis whether it’s the terminology, the expectations and context in which people work, or the visual form in which the data is presented. By finetuning the qualities of analyses, data scientists and business intelligence developers can improve how information is communicated to and understood by stakeholder audiences.

Given the complex nature of the streaming service business model at Viaplay, our data and analyses are likewise complex, thus we must always be mindful about how we communicate insights to various business units. The process of understanding how people intuit data has been studied and theorized. Grolemund and Wickham (2012) describe the process of sensemaking of the data analysis process. Meanwhile, Brewer (2013)researched how color and other qualities of maps are important for communicating information.  In this project, Viaplay’s Data Science department would like to engage in research on the interface between insight producers and insight consumers.  

Thesis Task:

In this thesis, you will study how various business units approach, understand and use visual and statistical information produced from data analytics research. This study would largely be based on interviews. For example, 

• How can the producer of information generate visual insights that are interpreted by the consumer in a way that is true to the original intent?
• What forms of information are useful and in which contexts?

The ultimate objective is to devise recommendations and design standards that would maximize the transference of information between producers of insights and their consumers.   

This project will suit you if:

• You are interested in cognitive interpretation of data analysis, visualization, and sensemaking
• You enjoy formulating interview questions that will help explain how people think about complex issues

We will:

• Provide a NENT-issued laptop for the duration of the thesis project (due end of Spring semester)
• Employee Access to Viaplay
• Guidance and coaching from top data science talent
• An honorarium of 20 000 SEK upon successful completion of your thesis

Special conditions:

• Due to data privacy of company operations, we would request that steps are taken to mitigate release of sensitive information.