When comparing a set of items side by side to show the quantitative behaviors, utilize bar charts.

Bar charts are classic diagrams that usually give a good picture of the data. Their main problem is that
when there are many bars, labeling becomes problematic. Therefore, it is recommended to use scroll
bar in the chart to display the first "n" bars. It is critical to sort by Yvalue in that case.

M
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov De

24,800,897

Stewart Wind

19,822,464

Brenda Gibson

John Greg

15,173,907

Amanda Honda

10,172,440

Samantha Allen

9,731,294

M
Projected
Sales

100
80
60
40
20
0

2008

2009

M
Sales
Budget

130

120

110

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

2007

2008

2009

M
2007
2008
2009

6
5
4
3
2
1
0

Jan

Feb Mar

Apr May Jun

Jul

Aug Sep

Oct

Nov Dec

Cumulative number of presidents by party over time

Party
20

Republican
Democrat
Dem.-Rep
Whig
Federalist

15
10
5
0

1800

1900

2000
Served From

Sales
Jan
Dec

Feb
15

Nov

Mar

10
5

Oct

Apr

Sep

May
Aug

Jun
Jul

Region
NORDIC
USA
JAPAN
UK
SPAIN
GERMANY

41%
27%
12%
12%
4%
4%

Mekko chart is very similar to a stacked bar chart but it has an

additional measurement which is the width.
It is a great way to display breakdowns either in ratio or in actual
amount. This example shows the ratio break down to the whole.
Mekko chart helps you identifying the breakdowns in multidimensional ways using the width.

No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44

President

Party

Washington, George
Adams, John
Jefferson, Thomas
Madison, James
Monroe, James
Adams, John Quincy
Jackson, Andrew
Van Buren, Martin
Harrison, William H
Tyler, John
Polk, James Knox
Taylor, Zachary
Fillmore, Millard
Pierce, Franklin
Buchanan, James
Lincoln, Abraham
Johnson, Andrew
Grant, Ulysses Sim
Hayes, Rutherford
Garfield, James Ab
Arthur, Chester Alan
Cleveland, Grover
Harrison, Benjamin
Cleveland, Grover
McKinley, William
Roosevelt, Theodore
Taft, William Howard
Wilson, Woodrow
Harding, Warren G
Coolidge, Calvin
Hoover, Herbert Cl
Roosevelt, Franklin
Truman, Harry S
Eisenhower, Dwigh
Kennedy, John Fitz
Johnson, Lyndon B
Nixon, Richard Milh
Ford, Gerald Rudol
Carter, James Earl Jr
Reagan, Ronald Wi
Bush, George Herb
Clinton, William Jef
Bush, George Walker
Obama II, Barack

Federalist
Federalist
Dem.-Rep
Dem.-Rep
Dem.-Rep
Dem.-Rep
Democrat
Democrat
Whig
Democrat
Democrat
Whig
Whig
Democrat
Democrat
Republic
Republic
Republic
Republic
Republic
Republic
Democrat
Republic
Democrat
Republic
Republic
Republic
Democrat
Republic
Republic
Republic
Democrat
Democrat
Republic
Democrat
Democrat
Republic
Republic
Democrat
Republic
Republic
Democrat
Republic
Democrat

Served Served
From
To
1789
1797
1797
1801
1801
1809
1809
1817
1817
1825
1825
1829
1829
1837
1837
1841
1841
1841
1841
1845
1845
1849
1849
1850
1850
1853
1853
1857
1857
1861
1861
1865
1865
1869
1869
1877
1877
1881
1881
1881
1881
1885
1885
1889
1889
1893
1893
1897
1897
1901
1901
1909
1909
1913
1913
1921
1921
1923
1923
1929
1929
1933
1933
1945
1945
1953
1953
1961
1961
1963
1963
1969
1969
1974
1974
1977
1977
1981
1981
1989
1989
1993
1993
2001
2001
2009
2009 -

CURRENCY

EUR

Financial reports are often shown in socalled a butterfly chart format. It is a table that has the
dimension in the middle of the table and metrics are displayed in its both sides. This provides an easy
view to associate the numbers to the dimension values.
To create a butterfly chart, use a straight table and drag and drop the dimension column to the middle
of the chart.

2009 YTD

2008 YTD

Var

2008
Year-End

7,192
1,264
1,146
-730
415

5,138
957
917
-594
323

40%
32%
25%
23%
29%

15,673
2,974
2,783
-2,042
741

1,518
2,054
8
-1,321
-633
208
-284
1,549

1,396
1,886
-5
-1,188
-819
59
-248
1,081

9%
9%
-269%
11%
-23%
252%
14%
43%

1,662
1,085
26
-1,576
-757
97
90
627

2009 MTD

2008 MTD

Var

P&L
Sales
GM
AV
Own Costs
EBIT

2,185
358
321
-185
136

1,256
250
232
-152
80

74%
43%
38%
22%
69%

Balance Sheet
Stock
Trade Debtors
Group Debtors
Trade Creditors
Group Creditors
Other Receivables
Other Accruals
Net Working Capital

1,518
2,054
8
-1,321
-633
208
-284
1,549

1,396
1,886
-5
-1,188
-819
59
-248
1,081

9%
9%
-269%
11%
-23%
252%
14%
43%

Graphs show more than numbers, but numbers show the exact actual figures. With Minicharts, there
is no need to pick one or the other. Minicharts takes tables to the next level.
There are various modes for minicharts. Use Line to show the movements, bars to show the
quantitative values and whiskers to show the win/loss values.
Using mini charts, because tables do not display only actual figures but individual historical measure

Region
Total
NORDIC
USA
JAPAN
UK
GERMANY
SPAIN

Region
Total
NORDIC
USA
JAPAN
UK
GERMANY
SPAIN

Sales EUR Ranking

2009 2009
21,421,961
10,237,751
5,211,325
2,390,335
1,925,049
934,179
723,323

Sales EUR
2008
58,279,041
22,633,998
16,394,030
7,386,439
7,404,419
2,100,962
2,359,194

37%
45%
32%
32%
26%
44%
31%

Sales EUR Ranking

2009 2009
21,421,961
10,237,751
5,211,325
2,390,335
1,925,049
934,179
723,323

Sales EUR
2008
58,279,041
22,633,998
16,394,030
7,386,439
7,404,419
2,100,962
2,359,194

37%
45%
32%
32%
26%
44%
31%

Sales Trends
2008 - 2009
79,701,002

Sales Trends
2008 - 2009
79,701,002

Budget
2008 - 2009
-1

Budget EUR
2009
111,352,305
43,416,075
31,888,992
15,769,456
10,440,902
4,525,270
5,311,610

19%
24%
16%
15%
18%
21%
14%

Sales Trends
2008 - 2009
79,701,002

Sales Trends
2008 - 2009
79,701,002

Budget
2008 - 2009
-1

Budget EUR
2009
111,352,305
43,416,075
31,888,992
15,769,456
10,440,902
4,525,270
5,311,610

19%
24%
16%
15%
18%
21%
14%

Sales vs Budget
2009

Sales vs Budget
2009

If showing the movements is important, use the line mode. You will be able to see the patterns of each dimension
value and compare if one is different from the others. It is often used to show the exchange rates over multicurrencies. In the line mode, y-axis should not be shared by dimension, and "force zero based scaling" should not be
enabled.
When showing quantitative values, it is important to show the actual values. Therefore, it is common to share y-axis
by dimension and "force zero based scaling" should be enabled.
Whisker is a unique measurement, either Win or Loss, Yes or No, or in other words, 1 or 0. Therefore, it is most
applicable for analysis such as budget achived or not, baseball games win or loss etc.

01/01/2005

53 months

05/14/2009

Low

High Average

URL

EUR

1.3566

1.3649

1.1674

1.5952

1.3342

EUR Conversion Table

GBP

1.9196

1.5229

1.3734

2.1050

1.8441

GBP Conversion Table

JPY

0.0098

0.0104

0.0081

0.0113

0.0091

JPY Conversion Table

SEK

0.1506

0.1278

0.1086

0.1709

0.1411

SEK Conversion Table