When someone isn't familiar with the tools and processes available to them, they aren't able to make good data visualization choices. Thus it would be helpful to have a guided questionnaire for new projects.

For example, I would like to hear how I might proceed with my project based on my answers to questions like these:

1) What are the dimensions of the dataset: time-series; geospatial; demographic; phenomenologic; etc.

2) Who is the intended audience: domain expert; executive decision maker; lay reader; etc.

3) Is the visualization intended to show: common patterns; interesting anomalies; problematic noise; statistical uncertainty; etc.

4) What do you want to emphasize: parts/whole; steps-to-success; ancestor/progeny relationships; topological pathways; cyclic traps; etc.

With such a guided questionnaire, I would like to be given advice on which charts and themes are best suited to my goals.