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In Analytics, there are several options for visualizations.  Determining what visualizations to use, depends on what story you want the data to tell. Ask yourself, What are you trying to show? Below are different groups of data and the visualization options available to tell the best story.

Image credit: https://looker.com/

Customizing Visualizations

Once you have decided on the story you want to data tell, editing the visualization is done in a few steps. Let's take the example of running a query for work order count by work order status.  

  1. Create and run your query under Work Orders by choosing the dimension WO Status and the measure WO Count, hit run
  2. Click the Visualization tab to start configuring your visualization options
  3. Select the type of visualization that best displays your data, in this case a bar chart
  4. Click Edit to configure the visualization option settings, for example going to the Values and adding values labels to exact work order count is displayed to your audience

You can further customize the visualization by using the 4 additional tabs under Edit to refine the end product.

Visualization Best Practices

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Column and Bar Charts

Are used to show a comparison among different items

  • Use consistent colors throughout the chart, and avoid adding extra colors unnecessarily
  • The measure axis should typically start at 0 to avoid misleading viewers
  • Use horizontal labels whenever possible to ensure that they are readable
  • Consider using a bar chart over a column chart, when dimension axis labels are long
  • Choose a bar chart over a column chart when displaying negative values
  • Choose a column chart when comparing values over time


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Line and Area Charts

Are best for depicting trends or progress over time

  • Utilize line charts for comparing measures or dimensions to each other
  • Utilize area charts for showing cumulative values
  • Choose stacked area charts for visualizing how different components contribute to the overall trend (avoid stacking line charts, as this is easy to misinterpret)
  • Avoid plotting too many lines or categories at once (5 or fewer is best)
  • When possible, it’s best to start the y-axis at 0 to ensure no misinterpretation of the data



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Dual-Axis Charts

Are best for visualizing relationships between different measures when the scale of each is vastly different (i.e. values and percentages)

  • Combine different mark styles (such as a line and a bar) to clearly illustrate each measure
  • Use contrasting colors for each measure to further clarify which is which
  • Place the primary measure on the left-side y-axis, as people tend to look to the left first (similar to how they would read)


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Pie and Donut Charts

Are best used to visualize a part to whole relationship

  • Make sure that the total sum of all segments equals 100 percent
  • Include fewer than 5 categories in the pie or donut chart whenever possible
  • Pie and donut charts should not be used for comparing individual sections to each other or for representing exact values
  • Avoid pie and donut charts whenever possible, as differences in angles and areas can be difficult for the brain to detect



Next Section: Saving the Visualization as a Dashboard or Look

Now that everything looks good, let's save your visualization and add it to a Dashboard.


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