Reporting · Dashboards · Component
The comparison
What each number is shown against — because a bare figure carries no information about whether to care.
The deliverable
What it is
A number alone requires the reader to supply the context, which they do from memory and frequently wrongly. One comparison converts it into information.
Which comparison depends on the measure: against target for things being managed to a level, against prior period for things being watched for change.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The reference
What the number is compared with.
3 attributes: Compared with · Reference value · Consistent
LearnThe difference
How the difference is expressed.
3 attributes: Difference · Expressed as · Direction is good
LearnThe context
Whether history is shown alongside the current value.
3 attributes: History shown · Periods shown · Range visible
Learn
A sparkline costs almost no space and prevents most misreadings of a single period.