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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.

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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.  

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  1. Create and run your query
under Work Orders by choosing the dimension WO Status and the measure WO Count, hit run
  1. in your chosen Explore.
  2. Click the Visualization tab to
start configuring your visualization options
  1. view your data in tabular/graphical format.

  2. Select the type of visualization that best displays your data

, in this case a bar chartClick

  1. .

    Note

    Certain visualizations only work with certain kinds of data. For example, a map visualization only works with location data, while a donut multiple only works with pivoted data. Should you choose a visualization that is not compatible, the Visualization area will indicate why that graph is not compatible.


  2. To the right of the visualization, click Edit to configure the visualization option settings. The type of visualization selected determines which of the following tabs display. While this is not the full list,
for example going to the Values and adding values labels to exact work order count is displayed to your audienceYou can further customize the visualization by using the 4 additional tabs under Edit to refine the end product
  1. this is the list of tabs you would most likely encounter:
    1. Plot: used for series positioning, map positioning, table themes, grid layouts, showing/hiding legends, or limiting displayed rows.
    2. Series: used to choose visualization colors, adjusting field labels, and truncating column names in tables
    3. Formatting: used to enable conditional formatting based on data, and to customize headers and rows in tables
    4. X: used to select a scale type, reverse the axis, and rotate labels on the X coordinate of graphs
    5. Y: used to turn gridlines on and off, reverse the axis, and move data to a Z (right) axis.
    6. Map: used to control mapped data such as zooming and panning the map to see data, or customize the default map position
    7. Style: used by single values to set colors and titles
    8. Comparison: used to compare the single value to another value (for example year/year or quarter/quarter data).

Visualization Best Practices

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Column and Bar Charts

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

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

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

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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