Categorical Visuals
Bar and column charts are ideal for visualizing categorical data, allowing easy comparison across categories. For example, a user can use a bar chart to display sales by product categories. If you have many subcategories, use legends or stacked visuals to further break down the data, such as segmenting sales by region or product type within each category.
Time series Values
When analysing data over time, line charts and column charts are typically the best choices. These charts make it easy to see trends, patterns, and fluctuations in time-based data.
- Line Charts: Ideal for showing continuous data over time, such as monthly sales, stock prices, or website traffic. They help identify trends like increases, decreases, and seasonality.
- Column Charts: Useful for comparing discrete time periods, like annual revenue or monthly sales. They offer a clear visual distinction between periods and can easily handle multiple data series using stacked or clustered columns.
Proportional Visuals
Proportional visuals show data as a part of a whole. In this case following visuals are best utilized:
- 100% stacked column chart: This chart type shows the relative percentage of each data series as part of the total. It’s ideal for comparing the composition of different categories while keeping the total constant.
- Funnel chart: A funnel chart is used to show a process that has sequential stages. It helps in visualizing how data decreases from one stage to the next, often used in sales or conversion funnels.
- Pie chart: A pie chart is a circular chart divided into slices to illustrate numerical proportions. While useful for showing parts of a whole, it’s recommended to limit categories to avoid clutter.
- Donught chart: Same as a Pie chart but with space in the middle that can be used to show logos, totals or key values.
Numeric Visuals
Numeric visuals are used to display key performance indicators (KPIs) or single-value metrics. Common visuals for showing numerical data include:
- Card Visuals: Displays a single number or metric, like total revenue or number of customers. Useful for highlighting key metrics.
- Gauge Visuals: Used to show progress towards a target, such as sales performance or completion percentage.
Grid Visuals
Grid visuals, such as Tables and Matrix visuals, display detailed data in a structured format, allowing users to see individual records or summary statistics.
- Tables: Show raw, detailed data in rows and columns, often used for presenting granular data.
- Matrix Visuals: A cross-tabulation tool that allows for row and column headers and is perfect for hierarchical data or when subtotals and cross-referencing are needed.
Performance Visual
- KPI Visual: A key performance indicator visual compares a measured value against a target. It typically includes color-coded indicators (e.g., red, yellow, green) to show performance status.
- Bullet Chart: Another great tool for showing progress toward a target. It combines a bar chart with a comparative marker to show how a metric compares to its goal.
Geospatial Visual
- Map Visuals: Used to plot data points on geographical maps. For example, a map visual can show sales or customer distributions by country, state, or city.
- Filled Maps: These maps color-fill areas (e.g., countries, states) based on the data, allowing for quick identification of regions with higher or lower metrics.
- ArcGIS Maps: Power BI integrates with ArcGIS to provide advanced geospatial mapping options, including heatmaps, cluster maps, and demographic layers.
