Module –05

Charts and
Visualization
Techniques
Table of Contents

1. Sparklines as Mini Charts......................................................................................................................... 4

2. Column and Bar Charts ............................................................................................................................ 4

3. Line Chart ................................................................................................................................................... 5

4. Pie Chart ......................................................................................................................................................6

5. Area Chart ...................................................................................................................................................6

6. Combo Chart .............................................................................................................................................. 7

7. Speedometer Chart ...................................................................................................................................8

8. PivotChart ...................................................................................................................................................8

9. Interactive Dashboard...............................................................................................................................9
Module Description

In this module, you will learn the

Learning Objectives

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Explain the sparklines as mini charts

• Describe the column and bar charts
• Explore the line charts
• Discuss pie charts
• Explain area charts
• Describe combo charts
• Explore speedometer chart
• Discuss PivotChart
• Explain interactive dashboard
1. Sparklines as Mini Charts

In this topic, you will understand the sparklines as a mini chart.

• Sparklines as mini chart options are good for us to show the KPI details or the trend in the
data.

• Sparkline is an exciting way of showing the charts as the smallest charts.

• The sparklines can be created as a line chart or bar chart.

• The Sparklines section can be accessed through the Insert tab (Figure 5.1).

2. Column and Bar Charts

Let us understand the column and bar charts.

• The charts are used to analyze the categorical and numerical data together.

• Column and bar charts are one of the most used charts in the industry that helps to analyze
the data having one categorical and one numerical data at least.

• Column charts are vertical charts. However, bar charts are horizontal charts in Excel.

• Various options are available to format the chart, making it pleasant to read and more visually
appealing.

• The Charts section can be accessed through the Insert tab (Figure 5.2).
 Figure 5.2 Column and Bar Chart

3. Line Chart

In this topic, you will understand the line charts.

• Line charts are used to analyze the data over the period.

• The line chart is one of the most potent options to show the data where the time is involved.

• Also, while on the real-time data, time is always there. For example, what are the sales over
the period? , What is the revenue which I am having over the period? And so on.

• There are various options available to modify the chart to become more appealing and
clearer.

• The Line Charts can be accessed through the Insert tab, where the line chart option can be
selected (Figure 5.3).

Figure 5.3 Line Charts in Excel

4. Pie Chart

Let us understand the pie chart.

• The pie chart is one of the most potent options to show the data to analyze the categorical
and the numerical data together.

• There are various options in Excel to modify a pie chart.

• From the options given in the Charts in the Insert tab, the Pie Chart option can be selected.

Figure 5.4 Pie Charts in Excel

5. Area Chart

In this topic, you will learn about the area charts.

• The area chart is one of the most potent options to show where the data is analyzed over the
period.

• When there are more categories in the data, the area chart can be used to make things easy
to understand.

• There are various options available to modify and format the chart.
• The Area Chart can be accessed through the Chart option in the Insert tab.

Figure 5.5 Area Chart in Excel

6. Combo Chart

In this topic, you will understand the combo chart.

• The combo chart is used to combine the multiple charts.

• The purpose of a combo chart is to show the visual more powerfully.

• The Combo Chart can be accessed through Charts in the Insert tab.

Figure 5.6 Combo Charts in Excel

7. Speedometer Chart

Let us discuss the speedometer chart.

• It is one of the KPI charts and quite powerful.

• The speedometer chart is one of the combo charts created by combining a pie and donut
chart.

• The purpose of the speedometer chart is to show the visuals in a more interactive and
intuitive that helps compare the actual values with the target values.

Figure 5.7 Speedometer chart in Excel

8. PivotChart

Now, let us discuss the PivotChart.

• PivotCharts are used to create interactive charts.

• PivotCharts can be created on top of pivot tables.

• They help to create interactive dashboards.

• Most charts are created as pivot charts because the charts are created on top of the table.
• So, to create a PivotChart, PivotTable should be there. Also, the chart should be made on top
of PivotTable.

Figure 5.8 PivotChart in Excel

9. Interactive Dashboard

In this topic, you will learn about interactive dashboards.

• Interactive dashboards will help the user to play around with the data set and get insights
from the data in a quick time.

• As business wants quick decisions in almost no time, creating interactive dashboards

helps to drill down data and get some insights as quickly as possible so the decision can
be taken as soon as possible.
 Figure 5.9 Interactive Dashboards

Figure 5.9 shows a sample dashboard created on the data set: a retail revenue and expenses
dashboard.