Choosing the right Chart(s)

[AJFoot]

I have a spreadsheet that contains a “Data Subject” column and four “Quarter – Year” columns that show the implementation status over time of the Data Subject into a database. The possible implementation statuses are: “1 - Named Data Subject”, “2 - Planned”, “3 - In Progress”, and “4 – In Production”. Only 4 quarters are maintained, e.g. when Q3 – 2019 is added, Q3 -2018 will be deleted. Sample data:

Data Subject	Q3 – 2018	Q4 – 2018	Q1 – 2019	Q2 - 2019
Account	1 - Named Data Subject	2 - Planned	4 - In production	4 - In production
Balance Sheet	1 - Named Data Subject	2 – Planned	2 – Planned	3 – In Progress
Contact	1 - Named Data Subject	3 – In progress	3 – In progress	4 – In production
Cost Center	1 - Named Data Subject	2 Planned	3 – In progress	4 – In production
Electronic Address	1 - Named Data Subject	1 – Named Data Subject	1 – Named Data Subject	1 – Named Data Subject

• The chart (or charts) need to display what’s shown in the sample table provided. See 1st screen capture attached.
• In addition, when a certain status is selected (e.g. “4 – In Production” in “Q2 -2019”) it should show the status (progress) in the previous three quarters. See 2nd screen capture attached.

Screen Capture 1Screen Capture 2

My question is if my approach is sensible or if there is a more appropriate design approach.

Please note that I have been using QlikView for less than a week.

Thanks in advance for any insight,

AJFoot

[chrismarlow · Accepted solution]

Hi,

With so many different Data Subjects your stacked bars I think are always going to look odd unless there is some natural drill down of the types of data (so are some accounting, some customer, some employee …) that you could use first.

Next question is what does good and bad look like? In your sample data is Electronic Address bad as it's status never changed - that might guide you to some more natural ways of ordering/highlighting the data.

In terms of your second question - are you looking to show the status for the prior quarters of the Data Subjects selected as In Production in the final quarter?

Cheers,

Chris.

[AJFoot · Accepted solution]

Thanks Chris!!!

Your response has definitely put my brain to work. The hierarchical breakdown is Function --> Category --> Data Subject. I have added these criteria as drill-down selections in my app and also included the 4 quarters. 

Thanks again for your comments and getting me pointed in the right direction.

Management has reviewed the app and is happy.