Updated: September 6, 2017

Choosing the Correct Chart Type

Intro

Charts are used to visually represent how numeric values relate to each other. Therefore, it’s crucial to define the type of relationship you want to illustrate when choosing the correct chart type.

Ranking

Rank items from highest to lowest, or vice versa.
For example: Rank countries by market share.

For more information, see ranking.

Comparison

Compare values of items in a list that has no particular order.
For example: Compare revenues in a list of products, or transaction volumes in a list of banks.

For more information, see comparison.

Variation through Time

Show the variation of values though time.
For example: Show stock level through time, or expenses by month compared to budget.

For more information, see variation through time.

Part to Whole

Display contribution of individual values to the whole.
For example: Show the percentage of sales attributed to various regions.

For more information, see part to whole.

Deviation

Show the deviation, difference, or gap between two sets of values.
For example: Show the deviation between actual revenue and target revenue by product.

For more information, see deviation.

Distribution

Show distribution within a set of values.
For example: Show how exam scores are spread or grouped around the median score.

For more information, see distribution.

Correlation

Show correlation between two or three sets of values.
For example: Show how sales revenues are impacted by customer age.

For more information, see correlation.

Cumulation

Show the accumulation of successive values.
For example: Show cumulation of stock day by day, or cumulation of revenues and cost for profit and loss.

For more information, see cumulation.

Geographical Values

Use a map to show the values associated with geographical areas.
For example: Show revenues by country on a map.

For more information, see maps.

Recources

Want to dive deeper? Follow the links below to find out more about related controls, the SAPUI5 implementation, and the visual design.

Elements and Controls

Implementation

No links.