Data Desk is asoftware program for visualdata analysis, visual data exploration, andstatistics. It carries outExploratory Data Analysis (EDA) and standard statistical analyses by means of dynamically linked graphic data displays that update any change simultaneously.

Data Desk was developed in 1985 byPaul F. Velleman, a statistics professor atCornell University who had studiedexploratory data analysis withJohn Tukey. Data Desk was released in 1986 for theMacintosh. It provided most standard statistical methods accessed through its own desktop interface.

In 1997, Data Desk was released forWindows, and included aGeneral Linear Model (GLM),multivariate statistics, and nonlinear curve fitting. DD/XL is an add-in forMicrosoft Excel that adds Data Desk Functionality directly to theSpreadsheet

Data Desk's developer,Data Description, pioneered linked graphic displays including a 3-D rotating plot and graphical slider control of parameters. It has also developed proprietary technology for computer-based multimedia instruction and currently provides contract data analysis services.

Macworld reviewed DD/XL on December 1, 2000 with a 4.5 out of 5.^[1]

InfoWorld reviewed Data Desk 6.0 and said "DataDesk Plus is by far the best Windows package for in-depth data exploration". Also, DataDesk Plus is easily the best Windows statistics package for teaching statistics"^[2]

Macworld reviewed Data Desk in October 1997, and gave it 9.1 out of 10, and a 5 star rating.

• Data visualization

• Stein, Philip G.; Matey, James R.; Pitts, Karen (1997). "A Review of Statistical Software for the Apple Macintosh".The American Statistician.51 (1):67–82.doi:10.1080/00031305.1997.10473593.

• Data Description's Website
• Data Desk's History page

• Plotting software