ABSTRACT
Edward R. Tufte, a Professor Emeritus at Yale University and one of the world’s leading experts on the visual presentation of information, believes that the 1986 explosion of the space shuttle Challenger can be partially blamed on the poorly designed presentations to NASA officials about the potential failure of O-rings in cold weather. Tufte felt that if the potential risk had been presented properly, decision makers would have understood the extreme risk involved and would have postponed the launch. Tufte’s perspective reflects a rational point of view that ignores the political pressures that influenced NASA’s decision to launch, but it is a critical perspective, nevertheless, and one that reflects the importance of data presentation. Every day, public managers rely on good data to inform decisions. Granted, lives may not be at stake, but if the data do not tell the story they are supposed to tell, or if they are misleading, ill-informed decisions will be made.
