Bullet chart

The bullet chart (Bullet chart) displays a gauge with extended options. Bullet charts can be used to visualize and compare performance of a measure to a target value and to a qualitative scale, such as poor, average, and good.

In a bullet chart you need one measure, which determines the length of the bar.

You can also add a dimension. This will show one gauge for every dimension value. If you do not define a dimension, the chart will show a single gauge.

Example:  

The example shows a bullet chart with sales performance for each quarter. It also shows the performance relative to target and performance range, which are different for each quarter.

When to use it

Bullet charts let you compare and measure performance with more enriched information than a common gauge. This is helpful when comparing performance according to a target and a simple performance rating. For example: you can show how sales relate to a target value, and in context of poor, good, and stretched performance.

Creating a bullet chart

You can create a bullet chart on the sheet you are editing.

Do the following:

1. From the assets panel, drag an empty bullet chart to the sheet.
   
2. Click Add dimension to select the dimension that define how many gauges are shown.

3. Click the Add measure button to select the value measure of the chart that defines the length of the bar.

   Once the measure is selected the bullet chart is displayed with default settings. Each gauge is displayed with an individual range. If you want to use a common range, you can set it withAppearance>Y-axis>Common range.

4. To add a target value, click Target under the measure. You can define a fixed value or use a measure with target values.

5. To add performance ranges, set Use segments under the measure to On.

   Click Add limit to set a range limit for the segments. You can adjust the color of each segment by clicking on it.

   You can define a fixed limit value or an expression.

The bullet chart is now displayed with the dimension and measure you selected.

Setting a target value

You can add a target value which is displayed as a marker line. If the measure contains sales numbers, this could be budgeted sales for example.

You can define a fixed value or use a measure with target values.

Setting performance ranges

To add performance ranges, set Use segments under the measure to On.

You need to add the limits for the ranges you want to use for showing indicators with Add limit. You can set a limit value in three ways.

• Use the slider.
• Type a value in the text box.
• Set an expression that returns the limit value.

Changing the color scheme

You can change color scheme of the value bar and the target by setting Appearance > Colors > Colors to Custom. You can set single colors or use an expression.

When you have added the limits, you can select the color and the symbol of the indicator for each defined range.

Setting the scale of the axis

If you use a dimension to show several gauges, you can select how to show the scale of the axis with Appearance>Y-axis>Common range.

• If you want each dimension gauge to use the same scale, enable Common range. If the range measure depends on the dimension value, the range bars will have different lengths.

  This is useful when you want to be able to compare the actual values.

  You can also set a common axis for all gauges with Appearance>Y-axis>Common range.

• If you want each range bar to be equally long, disable Common range.

  This is useful when you want to be able to compare the relative performance of each dimension value.