Comments on: Stacked Area Chart Challenge

By: Jon Peltier

Jon Peltier — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:58:13 +0000

I have no pending agreements with General Electric, but I wouldn’t mind selling them a corporate-wide license!

By: amy

amy — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:41:22 +0000

That worked – I knew it was not rocket science. Do you know if General Electric have any existing purchase agreements for your products?

By: Jon Peltier

Jon Peltier — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:25:57 +0000

Amy -

If the area series uses the same category labels as the columns, simply make a stacked column chart with all series, then right click on the one series, choose Chart Type, and select an area type. The area will be behind the columns, partially obscured.

By: amy

amy — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:23:17 +0000

I am very desparate to find a way to combine an area charts with a stacked column chart. There has got to be a simple way to to this……can you help?

Months J-F-M-A-M-J-J-A-S-O-N-D across the X. The area is a staffing plan, the stacked column separates the actual time divided into 4 categories.

I am going crazy – its such a simple concept (esp compared to the stuff you are doing …..)

By: Jon Peltier

Jon Peltier — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:49:05 +0000

Mike – Thanks, you may kiss my ring.

Seriously, I appreciate all the comments. Especially the ones like Damir’s that make me take one more look at something, to ensure that I stay honest and uphold the principles I claim to follow.

By: Mike Alexander

Mike Alexander — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:40:06 +0000

Your reputation is definately warranted. Amazing work.
I do think the chart improvements you made in the comments to Damir make a marked improvement in readability.

By: Colin Banfield

Colin Banfield — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:56:06 +0000

The one objection that might be raised in the chart is that the over portion of the values are highlighted in green but the **inverse** of the under values are highlighted in yellow, which can result in interpretation problems.

If the shape of the graph isn’t that important or if the actual values are more important than the shape (trend) , a stacked column is a useful alternative. With the stacked column, the Value series would represent the limit if the actual value is equal to or greater than the limit and zero otherwise. Over would represent the difference between the actual value and the limit when the actual value is equal to or greater than the limit and zero otherwise. Under would represent the actual value when the actual value is less than the limit and zero otherwise. The limit line can then be plotted using a line chart.

By: Jon Peltier

Jon Peltier — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:28:36 +0000

Damir – While area can be made relevant to some real value, keep in mind that people do not interpret areas nearly as well as they do linear dimensions (bar charts) and positions (XY charts).

By: Damir

Damir — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:24:30 +0000

How about: “When area under the curve represents (is proportional to) a meaningful value.”
Like in:
for X=time
Y=speed; Area -> travel
Y=flow; Area -> amount of liquid or material
Y=sales per unit of time; Area -> total $$
etc.

The cumulative value does not have to be represented on a Y axis, but when comparing two charts for different periods one can easily grasp the difference in areas.

By: Jon Peltier

Jon Peltier — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:12:45 +0000

Damir -

Area charts should be used with care. They can be used anywhere you would use a line chart, but the fill disrupts the usual clarity of a line chart. I like to use area chart series as background series to identify regions on an XY chart that have special meanings (a band on a run chart that means “good”, or several bands that indicate different levels of variability about a norm). They are good also for comparative measures, for example, using an area series for a series of predicted or target values, overlaid with a line chart showing actual performance.

They can also dress up a chart if you’re careful, like the chart in my last comment.