Charts and Graphs for Managers


It is generally said that a picture speaks thousand words, so is true for charting. They represent the data which can be easily and clearly understood by the viewer. In the absence of such a chart they user won’t easily understand about certain trends just looking at the table. Comparison in data is much easier with charting methods. Smart draw and excel are generally used tools for charts and graphs.
Type of Charts
Bar Graph

This chart shows the trends using the vertical and horizontal bars. The bars shows the differences between the trends over a time. The chart is build on X and Y axis, generally time shown on x-axis and the trend on y-axis. A bar represents a category. Each category is separated by a space between the bar.
Stacked or Relative Value Chart
Whereas Bar chart is used for simple data set relationship, stacked bar chart allows complex relationships representation.  It allows us for placement of one or more sub-categories inside a bar. Here sub-category represents a part of the whole.
Clustered Bar Chart
This type of chart is again similar to bar graph and stacked bar. The difference here is that this type of chart shows the subcategories along with the regular categories on the final chart.
Histogram
In a histogram each bar represents the distribution of data in a single category. The bars represents continuous range of data for a specific data point.  Distribution of test score for a class is an example. A close look at the chart will show that the distribution in a histogram follows a bell curve.
Line Graph
It is used to plot a series of data points on the screen. Each data point on the graph is connected to make a line. A line chart is useful when trends are to be shown with lines, or with the lines that cross each other. Examples may be the performance of two or more students over a time.
Pie Chart
A pie chart is a graphic that has a different view, it shows the trend as a slices of a pie. Each slice represents the data as some % of the total ie the sum of all slices of a pie chart must equal 100%. Each segment then represent as % of the value of total.
Area Charts
It is similar to the line chart except that area under the line is filled. The visual is much better than the line chart and works well for showing an increasing trend line over time.

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