1. Text Label: Got it, “Month-to-Date” Page Views
2. Quantitative Scale along a single axis: Check
3. Featured Measure: Page Views
4. One or two comparative measures (optional): yep, target value and goal value (9M and 10M page views respectively)
5. 2-5 ranges along the quantitative scale to declare the measure’s qualitative state (optional). I’ve got 3: 0 to Minimum acceptable (70%/7M), Minimum to target (7M-9M) and target to goal (9M-10M)

The traffic light scheme is trite but also useful because people understand it immediately – the connotations with those colors are so strong that it’s very difficult for users to misunderstand whereas shades of gray are less strongly correalated to a specific idea of feeling.

The problem I was trying to solve was pacing to a positive goal, not counting down, so this particular chart might not work in the scenario you describe, then again does that really matter? If I was building a “countdown” visualization I would probably approach it from a completely different angle.

I agree with John Peltier, the bullet chart is a gauge chart at heart and in fact, it’s a more violent version of a thermometer chart. All I ever see when I look at a bullet chart is a cross section of a rifle barrel.

And yes, it’s really true, my users had an extremely difficult time with the bullet chart. So lucky you for having such erudite users!

Thanks again for stopping by and for your feedback – I do appreciate it.

A Gauge that Works?

Like all gauge types (including bullet charts), this gauge suffers from the single-point-in-time limitation. I’ve shown how to make a line chart that shows all the information of Clint’s gauge (and Stephen Few’s bullet) but includes the time component as well, so you can track historical performance and extrapolate future results.

I didn’t include my usual how-to in this post, but I will add that soon, and comment here with a link. I welcome any feedback from Clint’s readers.

I appreciate the humor with which you presented your graph, knowing that the dataviz geeks would come out in full force. Allow me to pile on.

I don’t think your example is really easier to understand than a bullet graph, you’re just not presenting as much information as most simple bullet graphs contain. There is no indication of where the value is at the start of the month, and you don’t provide a comparative/target measure. In your example you just make the goal the same as the largest value in the range, but this seems like a cop-out, what happens if you achieve your goal mid-way through the month? What happens if you exceed it? How is this joyful information displayed in a meaningful way?

Is this really easier to learn? And if so is it just because you’re communicating less information? Both of the bullet graph counter-examples make assumptions at what you are trying to do with the gauge, starting the bar on the left side, and also putting in sperate comparative/target measures which you ommitted in your gauge.

Also consider if the salient point in ‘page views’ wasn’t to aim for higher numbers, but to count down the paid-for views one had contracted to an advertiser, or from a web services firm (i.e. the commercial version of the google maps api). Getting closer to (but maybe not too) zero might be the goal, and the arrow would travel from right to left. This is actually a real-world metric in my case so looking at your example I’m really not sure what I’m seeing. In the bullet graph versions, I’m given a clue (other than the much-maligned traffic light color scheme).

I agree with Hubert: a thermometer style chart does not seem that challenging. One of the things that I think attracts people to bullet graphs is that they are usually immediately graspable without education, at least this was my experience and seemingly the experience of most people I know who have seen them. I can’t help but ask the questions: they don’t understand bullet graphs after 6 months? for serious?

Kalin

I find the bar gauge more similar to a bullet graph than not, and it contains the 3 primary criteria: labeling, a quantitative scale, and a featured measure. It wastes far less real estate than all the half-moon gauges.

Having also attended the East Coast Visual Business Intelligence Workshop, with Dave and Hubert, I’m not so certain Few would shoot down this gauge down outright. This one could arguably be viewed an alternate bar graph. But I’m no Stephen Few. ;^]

I agree with Dave, it would be nice to see a side-by-side comparison with the bullet graph solution. We could then view each on it’s merits and discern where your audience struggled reading bullet graph. There may be room for improvement — no thoughts at the moment in addition to what’s been offered here — but, all in all, your bar gauge is a decent compromise.

The response from users to the gauge has been positive. Because they are familiar with gauges they can interpret it correctly without me walking them through it time and again.

BTW, I think you’re making my point for me in pointing out the 5 page spec for bullet charts. Data geeks appreciate that, business users generally don’t have the patience for it.

John,
as always, I appreciate your comments, insight and most of all your website! You’re right the chart itself isn’t really that hard to create and maintain but it does require attention to detail.

I’m not wild about the gauge either but had to find a decent comprimise that would work for my users who really wanted a circular dial/gauge.

It may be semantic, but it’s not that the marker line is mis-aligned (in fact it’s perfectly aligned to a traverse of 50%) it’s that the red background, without any other context creates the illusion of misalignment thus the x-axis where the pointer rests.

In this case, if the percentage to goal exceeds 100%, the pointer stays fixed to 100% while the label shows the actual percentage completed – again a comprimise – what’s the proper way to ’tilt!’ the chart?

There are several ways in which to address providing historical context. It would be a simple matter to change the minimum area to pace with the percentage of the month completed. In fact, I have used that with bullet charts in other solutions. However, in this case, the pacing gauge is an element within a dashboard and we are using sparklines plus some simple tables to show trending and W/W & M/M change. This particular visualization is not one-size fits all (I’m no Minard) and is designed to reflect one specific aspect of the data – pacing to a goal.

(I think I hear the rumblings of a new post in your comments, can’t wait to read it if that’s true)

Hubert, all true. I would only point out that as I commented above, after 6 months of effort with users still not understanding the bullet chart and being frustrated with it a change had to made. Otherwise they would ignore the dashboard as meaningless noise.

I’ll agree on the thermometer comment however. I think that visualizations of that type including gauges and (eek) pie charts tend to get a bad reputation more for over- and mis-use than for their lack of compliance to current visualization theory. Seth G was partially correct the other day when he said charts should be designed for impact. A properly used thermometer-style chart in the right place at the right time can have more impact than a line or a bar chart. IMHO, our job is to communicate a story that is buried in dry data. Impactful visualizations are our best tools for telling that story and communicating it correctly and quickly. If users are distracted by having to figure out how to read a visualization correctly we’ve lost the user and failed.

Graphing theory and rules are to visualization as grammar is to poetry, you need to know all the rules before you break them.

To all, I fully expect to end up on Stephen’s Wall of Shame ;~)

As far as the chart you have created… To be brutally honest I do not see any advantage of this chart type over a thermometer type. After all, the thermometer has been around since 1617 and everyone knows how to read that. Your gauge portrays the same amount of visual information as a simple number or a simple percentage of Year To Date Goal.

I too was lucky to be one of the 60 people who attended the 2008 East Coast Visual Business Intelligence Workshop. There the gauge was brought up over and over again and each and every time they were shot down. And a bullet chart is no more difficult to maintain than any other chart in Excel. Anyone who uses Excel on a regular basis knows that there are quirks that one must deal with but with some ingenuity and a few more ideas one can make excel create some great charts.

I’m not wild about the new gauge. I’ve sworn off gauges myself. You’ll notice that I’ve removed the speedometer tutorial from my web site, for at least a couple of reasons. First, it is a poor display device, for all the reasons people have been giving. Second, I received too many questions from people who don’t understand enough math to customize it. It’s algebra, a little trig: find a tenth grader to help, people!

On the plus side, your gauge is linear instead of circular. Also, the new Excel 2007 feature is nice that allows arrowheads on series lines, axes (I think), and error bars. One of the few nice things about Excel 2007 charting, and not worth putting up with the problems.

On the minus side, as you stated, the 50% is misaligned. And what if you go to 11? More important, there is no historical context. I can’t see how I’m doing lately, nor even how much of the month has elapsed. A line chart with X ranging from 1 to 31, and a stacked area background with your colored regions, would take up the same space, more or less, but provide a wealth of additional information.

Hmmm, good blog topic. I’ll get back to you.

Original:

Also, I think this blog post would have been better if you showed both your bullet solution and non bullet solution side by side. Or even better, shared all the raw data you were trying to encode and ask your readers to create a crowd source solution.

Corrected:

Also, I think this blog post would have been better if you showed both your bullet solution and non bullet solution side by side. Or even better, I liked that you shared all the raw data you were trying to encode and asked your readers to create a crowd source solution.

Sorry for the confusion.

@dmgerbino

I have been a student of Steven Few’s books and web site, http://www.PerceptualEdge.com ever since March 2006 and I was lucky to be 1 of 60 people who attended his 2008 East Coast Visual Business Intelligence Workshop where we spent three packed days not only going over his material but critiquing each others work. We reviewed many dials and gauges dashboards and shot them down left and right and replaced them with with much better visuals we reviewed in the workshop.

I just do not understand how your solution is not considered confusing. If your users found bullets confusing, why are they not finding your solution just as confusing?

Also, I think this blog post would have been better if you showed both your bullet solution and non bullet solution side by side. Or even better, shared all the raw data you were trying to encode and ask your readers to create a crowd source solution.

For those who would like to read Stephen Few’s revised 5-Page Bullet Graph Design Specification, use this link to Stephen Few’s website to read his Adobe Acrobat PDF document:

http://www.perceptualedge.com/articles/misc/Bullet_Graph_Design_Spec.pdf

@dmgerbino