A KPI chart is a visualization that shows Key Performance Indicators. The KPIs are factors used for monitoring how well a company or organization is doing.
To create a new KPI chart:
On the authoring bar, click
to open the
Visualization types flyout.
Drag the KPI chart visualization to the wanted position on the analysis page.
Response: A first attempt to set up a KPI chart is made.
Adjust the visualization to display the KPIs of your choice. How to add a KPI is described below.
To add a new KPI to a KPI chart:
You have several options to visualize performance; Show the primary, actual Value, show a Comparative value, show a sparkline, and indicate performance through coloring tile backgrounds.
Right-click the KPI chart to display the pop-up menu.
Select Add KPI.
Response: A first attempt to set up a suitable KPI is made by the application, but you probably want to adjust the settings in the opened KPI Settings dialog.
In the dialog, select the Values page.
On the Value axis, specify the column or expression to use for calculation of the KPI value to display as the primary value in a tile.
Response: The displayed value in the tile is the result of this calculation for the most recent time period. See the Time axis setting in the next step.
On the Time axis, select the column or hierarchy to use for defining the time periods for which the Values above should be calculated. The displayed Value is the result for the most recent time period.
Note: You can display this time period in the tile by selecting the Show time in tile check box.
Comment: When creating a KPI, sparklines showing Value over Time are displayed in the tiles by default. You can remove the sparklines from the tiles by clearing the Show sparkline check box on the Appearance page of the KPI Settings dialog.
Under Tile by, specify the column or hierarchy to define into which categories the KPI should be split.
Comment: The category is displayed in the upper left of the tile.
On the Comparative value axis, specify the column or expression to use for evaluation of the primary Value.
Comment: The result of the evaluation is displayed in the lower left of the tile.
If you want to let colors indicate a certain performance, go to the Colors page in the KPI Settings dialog.
In the Columns drop-down list, specify the column or expression on which the coloring of the tiles should be based. The coloring can, for example, be based on the primary values, the comparative values, or values from any other calculation.
Comment: Click the Add Rule button to define rules for how the tiles should be colored.
Comment: Alternatively when adding a KPI, you can drag columns from the Data in analysis flyout to drop targets in the KPI chart to specify what to display on the various axes in the KPI. The drop targets are:
They represent, from left to right, the Value axis, the Time axis, the Tile by axis, the Comparative value axis, and the Color by axis. Note that there is one row of drop targets per KPI in the KPI chart. Using the drop target at the bottom will add a new KPI to the chart.
To change the display text for Value or Comparative value in a KPI:
By default, the expressions that are specified on the Value and Comparative value axes are displayed in the tile. You can change these display texts.
Right-click a tile in the KPI to display the pop-up menu.
Select KPI Settings.
Go to the Values page.
On the Value axis selector, or Comparative value axis selector, click the arrow.
Make sure the column selector is expanded.
In the Display name field, type the wanted display text.
To edit a KPI:
Right-click a tile belonging to the KPI you want to edit.
In the opened pop-up menu, select KPI Settings.
Response: The KPI Settings dialog for the KPI in question opens.
Adjust the settings to display the values of your choice.
To sort tiles alphabetically:
You can sort the categories represented by different tiles in a common alphabetical order. The sorting includes tiles from all existing KPIs in the KPI chart. When Start each KPI on a new row is selected on the Appearance page of the KPI chart Properties dialog, sorting is done per KPI and does not include tiles from all existing KPIs in the KPI chart.
Right-click the KPI chart to display the pop-up menu.
Select Sort Order > Alphabetical.
Comment: If you want to display the tiles the other way around, select Sort Order > Reversed Alphabetical.
To sort tiles by performance (using columns and expressions):
You can display the tiles in a 'Best first' or 'Worst first' order using measures that you specify per KPI. The sorting includes tiles from all existing KPIs in the KPI chart. For example, the 'Worst First' common sort order makes it possible to gather tiles that show bad results from different KPIs at the very top of the chart. When Start each KPI on a new row is selected on the Appearance page of the KPI chart Properties dialog, sorting is done per KPI and does not include tiles from all existing KPIs in the KPI chart.
Right-click a tile belonging to the KPI you want to include in the sorting.
In the opened pop-up menu, select KPI Settings.
Go to the Sorting page.
Under Sort tiles by, specify the column or expression for the measure to use for sorting the tiles in this KPI. The sorting is only put in effect if 'Best first' or 'Worst first' is used.
Click Close.
Repeat steps 1 to 5 until you have specified a sort order for each KPI you want to include in a 'Best first' or 'Worst first' sorting.
Right-click the KPI chart.
In the opened pop-up menu, select Sort order > Best First, alternatively Sort order > Worst First.
To add actions performed when clicking a tile:
Open the KPI Settings dialog, and go to the Actions page.
Select the Perform action on click check box.
Click Settings....
Response: The Action Settings dialog is displayed.
Type a good Description explaining what will happen when clicking the tile.
Add the desired actions and click OK.
Click Close.
To show the scale for a KPI sparkline:
Open the KPI Settings dialog, and go to the Appearance page.
Make sure the Show sparkline and Show scale check boxes are selected.
If you want to include the value 0 in the scale range, select the Include origin check box.
Click to select whether to use One scale for all sparklines in this KPI or Multiple scales.
Comment: Use One scale for all sparklines in this KPI, if you want to use a common sparkline scale for the Value axes within the KPI tiles. Use Multiple scales to use different scales within the KPI tiles. This will maximize the Value axis variation within each sparkline.
Click Close.
To change the font style and size
You can change the font style, size, and emphasis for the tile elements. You specify the font size for the time element, which is the smallest font in the KPI tile. The font sizes of the other elements in the tile are automatically adjusted relative to this size.
Important: The tile width is relative to the font size and will change depending on what you specify here.
Note: The time element is not shown by default. Enable it by selecting the check box Show time in tile on the Values page in the KPI Settings dialog.
Right-click the KPI chart, and select Properties.
Open the Fonts page.
Select Tile labels (based on smallest font in tile, time) and make your changes.
Click Close.
To specify minimum tile width in the KPI chart
You can specify the minimum tile width that you accept in the grid of tiles in the KPI chart. If the width falls below this value when the visualization is resized, tiles will be moved to the next row in the grid. If tiles cannot be moved to the next row or must remain visible due to what has been set in Min number of tiles per row and Min number of visible tiles, the tiles will be scaled down while keeping the ratio between the tile width and the font size.
The minimum tile width is relative to the font size. If you change the font size, the tile width is automatically increased or decreased by the same multiple as the font size. For example, when you increase the font size from 9 to 18, the tile width doubles automatically. The value specified in Min tile width relative to font size (in pixels) however, stays the same. This value only reflects the tile width as the actual number of pixels, when the font size is set to Default.
Important: It is recommended that you set the font size and the minimum tile width first, before you specify Min number of tiles per row and Min number of visible tiles.
Right-click the KPI chart, and select Properties.
Open the Appearance page.
Under Min tile width relative to font size (in pixels), specify the minimum tile width.
Click Close.
To specify minimum number of tiles per row
You can specify how many tiles remain in one row when the visualization is resized.
Important: This setting and Min tile width relative to font size (in pixels) are linked. It is recommended that you set the font size and the minimum tile width first, before you specify Min number of tiles per row and Min number of visible tiles.
Right-click the KPI chart, and select Properties.
Open the Appearance page.
Under Min number of tiles per row, specify the the minimum number of tiles per row.
Click Close.
To specify minimum number of visible tiles in the KPI chart
You can specify how many tiles remain visible without having to scroll when the visualization is resized.
Important: This setting and Min tile width relative to font size (in pixels) are linked. It is recommended that you set the font size and the minimum tile width first, before you specify Min number of tiles per row and Min number of visible tiles.
Right-click the KPI chart, and select Properties.
Open the Appearance page.
Under Min number of visible tiles, specify the the minimum number of visible tiles.
Click Close.
To start each KPI on a new row
You can choose to start each KPI on a new row to be able to better distinguish the individual KPIs from each other and to make the whole visualization clearer. This can be useful when the different KPIs have similar colors and you want to better distinguish them visually. You can also choose to show the title of each KPI and change the spacing between the different KPIs.
Note: When Start each KPI on a new row is selected, sorting is done per KPI and does not include tiles from all existing KPIs in the KPI chart.
Right-click the KPI chart, and select Properties.
Open the Appearance page.
Select the check box Start each KPI on a new row.
To show the title of each KPI, select Show titles.
To change the spacing between the KPIs, adjust the number of pixels under Additional spacing (in pixels).
Click Close.