Heat Maps

In this episode, Ricardo talks about one of the most effective forms for displaying graphical information, the Heat Map. He explains how you can use this tool to improve your project’s communication when creating reports such as the risk map and the stakeholders analysis.

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Episode transcript

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Hello everybody welcome to the five minutes PM podcast today. I like to discuss about the Heat Maps what does a heat map? A heat map is a graphical representation using colors. And this is the reason why we call this Heat Maps and the Heat Map it says exactly dr. The readers I to the heat point's on the report on that graphical is presentation one of the time the Heat Maps are or something like a matrix.

For example, one interesting use is the probability back to the matrix where we can put in red, the high probability high impact risk, and we can put in blue or a lighter color, the low probability, low impact risk. So why should we do that? And why should we use this graphical representation first, when we need to communicate properly and fast? Most of the time, the biggest problem we have today is not a lack of information.

We have an overhead and amount of information, the problem it's and all of this bunch of information I receive, what should I really care? What is the real relevant information? So for example, if you have a risk register with black suppose 150, the risks, and I'm your sponsor, or I'm a member of your project board, and you present this to me, imagine how do I feel going through maybe four or five, six pages off a list of risks?

The Heat Map that will give me immediately insight guns, where are the risks? I should care? A mod is a 150. There are, or maybe seven, eight, 10, or whatever that aren't on this Heat Maps So the heat moves the color and the collar will help guide in my eyes through the real relevant information and not have a very relevant use of the Heat Map has to do stakeholder analysis, but you can use the same pattern of collars or scale densify.

Where are they? The big supporters may be, I can put them in a dark green, the little we were supported then in the last dark green, and then do positive towards may be in a dark red. So Dan, with this intuitive approach, I can easily guide my eyes and understand the major stakeholder groups and this without spending hours analyzing the information. So this is the something that people should use more, should explore more.

One very important point about the Heat Maps that very few people worry about. It's about the color blind people. We need to understand that we need to prepare information that is able, that is allows people to read some or most of the time. If we present a report to call a blind person, the person will see only black or gray. Very, very important. When you are preparing Heat, Maps put your screen black and white or printing black and white draft vote and take a look to see if they impact is acceptable.

And if the person can read and understand the difference, I hope you found this podcast useful and see you next week with another five minutes PM. Podcast.

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