Depending on the task that you want to perform, choose the chart type that best meets the visualization needs of your data:
|
Task |
Recommended Chart Type |
Examples |
| Comparing variables | Column; Bar; Pie; Donut; Line | On a Marketing Report, to see requested and committed numbers for potential customers. |
| Viewing composition (to see how individual parts make up a whole) | Pie, Donut; Stacked Bar; Stacked Column; Geo | On an Opportunity Report, to see all tasks in a stage for an opportunity that need to be completed before the stage can be moved. |
| Viewing relationship of one variable to one or more variables | Bubble; Line | On a Sales Plan Report, to see the days a sales plan stays in different stages and number of open tasks by various industries. |
| Viewing distribution of your data | Line; Column; Bar | On a Marketing Report, to see the pipeline by country, quarter, or product. |
| Analyzing trends in your data set | Line; Column | On a Marketing Report, to see campaign performance in a quarter. |
| Comparing many different variables | Stacked Bar; Bubble | On a Marketing Report, to see marketing expenditures vs. revenue vs. profit. |
| Viewing numbers in a geographical context to spot best and worst performing countries | Geo | On a Solutions Report, to see solutions by country, or on a Marketing Report, to see campaign performance by country. |
|
Viewing KPIs. To see a single key value |
Guage | On a Solutions Report, to see a solution's penetration in a region in the last quarter. |
| Viewing multiple data series grouped by category | Cluster Column; Cluster Bar | On a Sales Plan Report, to view performance of your sales plans for last four quarters. |
You can choose amongst the following 13 different chart types and plot one or more charts for your reports:
Bar- these charts are used to compare variables between different groups or to track changes over time. For example, opportunities for a sales plan per region and year can be easily seen using a bar chart.
- Allowed variables: Text, Number, Date, Date & Time
- Allowed values: Number, Date, Date & Time, Count
- Max values allowed: Unlimited
Bubble- this chart can show distribution or relationship. For example, you can easily see number of days that opportunities stay for in different stages in different industries (e.g, High Tech; Healthcare, etc.). You can also see the count of the opportunities for the various industries.
- Allowed variables: Text
- Allowed values: Number, Date, Date & Time, Count
- Max values allowed: 4
- Min values allowed: 2
Cluster Bar- this chart clusters several bars into a category and displays each cluster separately. For example, you can categorize potential partners by industry. This lets you see the total number of potential partners by industry.
- Allowed variables: Text
- Allowed values: Number, Count
- Max values allowed: 1
Cluster Column- this chart displays more than one data category in clustered vertical columns. Each data category shares the same x-axis labels, so that vertical bars are grouped by category. Clustered columns allow the direct comparison of multiple categories, but they can quickly become visually complex. This chart type works best in situations where data points are limited.
- Allowed variables: Text
- Allowed values: Number, Count
- Max values allowed: 1
Column-to see comparison amongst different variables or a comparison of variables over time. For example, you can easily view your pipeline by quarter, your pipeline by product, or your pipeline by country using this chart type.
- Allowed variables: Text, Number, Date, Date & Time
- Allowed values: Number, Date, Date & Time, Count
- Max values allowed: Unlimited
Combo- a combination chart in which you can select and plot variables both as bars and lines.
- Allowed variables: Text, Number, Date, Date & Time
- Allowed values: Number, Date, Date & Time, Count
- Max values allowed: Unlimited
Donut- in this chart type, you can see the relationship of parts to a whole. Each data set that you plot in a donut chart adds a section to the chart. For example, you can easily see the days (in %) in each stage (Converted to Opportunity; Won, Identified etc.) that opportunities in your sales plan stay to quickly see which stage is the slowest or the fastest.
- Allowed variables: Text
- Allowed values: Number, Count
- Max values allowed: 1
Gauge- this chart type is used to present KPIs, for example, on an executive dashboard, and together with segmenting and color coding, it can easily show a performance result. Setup relevant maximum and minimum values to support the interpretation of the relevant data.
- Allowed variables: Number
- Allowed values: Number, Count
- Max values allowed: 1
Geo- this chart type allows you to visualize data broken down by geographic regions. For example, Pipeline by Country.
- Allowed variables: Text (only Region)
- Allowed values: Number, Count
- Max values allowed: Unlimited
Line- to see trends or progress over time. This chart type can be used to view many different categories of data. You should use it when you chart a continuous data set.
- Allowed variables: Text, Number, Date, Date & Time
- Allowed values: Number, Date, Date & Time, Count
- Max values allowed: Unlimited
Pie- this chart shows how the categories represent part of a whole. It shows numbers in percentages and the total sum of all segments should equal to 100%.
- Allowed variables: Text
- Allowed values: Number, Count
- Max values allowed: 1
Stacked Bar- to see a comparison of different items and to see the composition of each item being compared.
- Allowed variables: Text
- Allowed values: Number, Count
- Max values allowed: 1
Stacked Column- This chart type displays data using rectangular bars where the length of the bar is proportional to the data value and the data values are stacked one over the other.
- Allowed variables: Text
- Allowed values: Number, Count
- Max values allowed: 1
Also See: Creating a Chart
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