Configuring a visualization

You can use the visualization configuration form to create new visualizations and customize existing and preconfigured visualizations.

When creating a new visualization, all fields in the form are empty. For more information on creating a new visualization, see Adding a new visualization.

When configuring an existing visualization, you can update the name of the visualization; change the visualization type; add or remove groups; add, edit, remove, and arrange measures; add or remove filters; and add or remove a breakdown.

By configuring an existing visualization, you can update and refine the interactive controls and data used in the visualization without having to add a brand new visualization. This iterative approach allows you to find the best combination of groups, measures, filters, and breakdowns for understanding your data and gathering insights.

After you configure the visualization, click Save changes at the top of the page to finalize the changes and update the visualization.

Name

Edit or update the name of the visualization. Use descriptive names that clearly explain the purpose of your visualization.

If you make significant changes to the configuration of your visualization, especially if you change the group attributes or add a breakdown, it can be useful to update the name to reflect the changes.

Visualization type

From the list, select the type of chart or graph you want to use for your visualization. Scenario Visualizations offers two chart types for visualizing your data.

Bar Chart

Use bar charts to visualize and compare discrete groups of data. The bars are displayed vertically.

Horizontal Bar Chart

Use horizontal bar charts to visualize and compare discrete groups of data. The bars are displayed horizontally.

Line chart

Use line charts to visualize data and identify trends or patterns.

Mixed Line and Bar Chart

Use mixed line and bar charts to combine the features of a bar chart and a line chart.

Pie Chart

Use pie charts to visualize the part-to-whole relationships of your data.

Scatter Chart

Use a scatter chart to visualize the relationships between two measures. Each data point is formed by its position on the y-axis and x-axis.

Bubble Chart

Use a bubble chart to visualize the relationships between three measures. Compared to a scatter chart, where each data point is formed by its position on the y-axis and x-axis, a bubble chart offers an additional dimension where the size of the bubble provides a visual representation of a third measure.

Groups

Select or deselect the group attributes that combine to form the label for each data point in the visualization's series.

The available group attributes are derived from the event data and bid sheet columns; only text-based attributes can be used.

Use the Filter field to filter the list of groups.

Selecting a single group is useful for generating high-level, basic visualizations of specific data. Selecting multiple groups is useful for creating more granular and expressive visualizations that combine different data together in distinct data points.

For example, in the bar chart visualization in Figure 3, the data is grouped by the Scenario Name attribute, displaying the pre-discount cost of each scenario.

You can add more group attributes and different combinations of group attributes to better understand your data.

Measure

Add, edit, arrange, or remove the quantitative values that are shown in the visualization. You can create and configure measures using event attributes and aggregation functions.

The first measure is automatically assigned as the primary measure in the visualization. For example, if you configure a bar chart visualization, the first measure is displayed on the y-axis. Additional measures are available within a pop-up tooltip when you hover over data points in the visualization.

1. Add new measure: Click to create an empty row in the list of measures. You can then configure the measure as required.
2. Value: Select the attribute to be used in the measure. The available values are based on event data and allocation data.
3. Aggregation: Select the function to be used to aggregate the column.
   
   • MIN: Returns the smallest value.
   • MAX: Returns the largest value.
   • SUM: Adds all of the values.
   • AVG: Returns the average of the values.
   • COUNT: Returns the number of entries.
   • COUNT_UNIQUE: Returns the number of unique entries.
     The MIN, MAX, SUM, and AVG aggregations can only be applied to numeric columns.
4. Measure name: Enter a name for the measure. A name is automatically generated based on the aggregation and column selected. For example, If you select Savings in the Column list, and SUM from the Aggregation list, the Measure name, (SUM) Savings, is created. You can overwrite this name with a name of your choosing.
5. Actions: Click to open a list of additional options to move up, move down, or remove the measure.
6. Order icon: Click and drag a measure to a new position. The measure at the top of the list is assigned as the primary measure. The order of the measures in the list is reflected in the order they appear in the pop-up tooltip that appears when you hover over a data point.

Filters

Select or deselect the filters used to include or exclude data from the visualization.

The available filters are based on event data and allocation data. Filters are optional and do not have to be configured for a visualization. However, they are highly interactive and configurable in the visualization view and enable you to expose and hide information when investigating and examining your data.

Breakdowns

Select or remove an attribute that splits a visualization's series into multiple distinct series.

The available breakdown attributes are derived from the event data and bid sheet columns; only text-based attributes can be used. Breakdowns are optional and do not have to be configured for a visualization. However, adding a breakdown enables you to split a series into distinct series based on the attribute selected.

For example, in Figure 7, a Bidder Name breakdown has been configured for the Scenario Summary visualization. This splits the allocation costs of each scenario into distinct series based on the name of the bidder. The legend at the top of the visualization shows which color corresponds to which bidder. You can click the items in the legend to show or hide the corresponding data in the visualization.

You cannot select an attribute for a breakdown that is already being used for a group.