Jesika Haria

Sophomore @MIT

iPhone security analyst,Researcher at MIT Media Lab,

Data Viz & Network Science Enthusiast, Entrepreneur.

What's the difference between data visualization and a systems visualization?

None. Or tons of difference.

You may wonder how I claim both. After all, I can't have my cake and eat it too. There's no difference in that the purpose remains the same between the two i.e. both systems and data visualization seek to simplify, both abstract out detail, often times ignore nuances of outlier data points while highlighting 'the general trend' or 'the high-level phenomena', both can be, and are manipulated to paint a dramatic caricature. And mostly importantly, they exist to help us better understand the world around us.

Why are they different, then?

Systems viz, in my opinion, is the visualization of complex systems and the intricate analysis of the different I/O, process and storage components of a system in a meaningful and enlightening way. An effective systems visualization makes use of much of the same techniques that data visualization does: metaphors, story-telling, narration, animation and the like. Data visualization can tell a story too, any effective visualization must tell one! What systems visualization does differently is that it records the whole system and its abstraction, as opposed to data visualization that represents the raw numbers. For example, documenting how the iPhone manufacturing process works works is a systems visualization concept, representing the number of iPhone actually sold, and the amount of resources used for the same would be more suited to a data visualization approach.

All in all, an effective visual scheme must include elements of both. What is a system without indication of its magnitude? And what are numbers without context?