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Knowing how to use Power BI data visualizations effectively is advantageous in many ways. Data visualizations, in general, align with how humans process information. Human beings tend to process visuals easily and retain more information.
Data visualizations simplify and present information in a way people can understand. This allows for faster decision-making and improved key performance indicators (KPIs).
Data visualizations are not created equal. Dashboards, for example, are ideal for summarizing information. Reports are, however, more detailed.
Knowing several Power BI visualization types will help you choose the most appropriate ones.
You can also create different visualizations and use them on dashboards with Power BI (PBI).
This article defines Power BI and the visualizations you can find on the platform. We look at some Power BI data visualization types and Power BI data visualization examples.
We also learn how to use Power BI to create interactive charts and visualizations. Finally, we look at frequently asked questions regarding Power BI data visualizations.
Visualizations in Power BI are graphical representations of data. They help to communicate insights and patterns clearly and concisely. They are the cornerstone of any successful data analysis and dashboard creation in PBI.
There are a variety of Power BI visualization types. Some include bar charts, line charts, scatter plots, pie charts, tables, and maps.
These visualizations can be customized to suit specific needs and combined to create powerful and interactive dashboards in Power BI.
PBI visualizations can be created using a simple drag-and-drop interface. You can select data fields and drop them onto the visualization canvas.
After creating PBI visualizations, you can easily manipulate, filter, and share them with others.
Power BI for Mac also offers a wide range of pre-built templates and themes, allowing you to effortlessly create professional-looking dashboards and reports.
Here is the video which shows how Power BI Visualization works:
Here’s a fresh look at types of Power BI visuals that help turn raw numbers into meaningful stories:
There are several kinds of visualizations available in Power BI. In this section, we look at the best Power BI visualization examples and types, including how the Power BI connector can enhance your data integration and visualization capabilities.
Your use case will have a major impact on the best Power BI data visualization type you choose.
Here are some PBI visualizations you might consider:
One class of Power BI charts is area charts. They help observe trends and patterns across time.
Time is represented on the x-axis, while the data value is shown on the y-axis. To compare different data sets, they might be layered or overlapped.
An Area chart can be used to show profits over time. It will draw attention to the overall profit.
An illustration of an area chart is as follows:
One example of a Power BI data visualization is a doughnut chart. They have a hole in the middle and are round.
Each segment’s size corresponds to its share or percentage of the whole.
Pie charts and doughnut charts are similar. However, they do have a hole in the middle.
An additional piece of information, like a summary or total value, might be displayed in the hole.
Each section of a doughnut chart represents a type of data or a collection of data. Each segment’s size reflects the amount or percentage of that category.
The segments are arranged in a circular pattern. The total or summary value is visible through the center hole.
Doughnut charts help examine the relative sizes of various categories.
Additionally, they display how much each category contributed to the overall value.
The following is an illustration of a doughnut chart:
A Gauge Chart is used to display data in a circular format. It resembles a traditional speedometer or a gauge.
It is commonly used to show a single value within a specific range. A good example is showing progress toward a goal or a KPI.
The PBI Gauge chart allows you to visualize data as a gauge. It has a range of values that can be customized to fit specific needs.
You can present a range of values the colors, and data labels for the gauge, too.
In addition, you can:
The following is an example of a Gauge chart:
Hierarchical data is displayed as a group of nested rectangles on a treemap. Each rectangle’s size and color correspond to a numerical value or category. You can quickly and simply visualize complex data using a treemap to spot patterns and trends.
Treemaps are a powerful tool in Power BI for exploring and analyzing data from various angles. To further hone your analysis, you take advantage of interactive elements like slicers and tooltips.
Treemap use cases:
Here is an illustration of a treemap:
A Sankey diagram displays the flow of data or information through a system or process.
It consists of nodes and links, where nodes represent data categories and links represent the flow of data between them. The width of the links is proportional to the amount of data that flows between the nodes, making it easy to identify the most important relationships. When comparing a Power BI dashboard vs. a report, this visualization method is often used in dashboards to highlight key data relationships and flow patterns.
Sankey diagrams can be used for a wide range of applications, including:
The following is an illustration of a Sankey diagram:
There are numerous Power BI data visualizations. However, we are going to use the Sankey diagram to illustrate how to create visualizations with Power BI Report Builder.
Sankey diagrams, also known as Sankey charts, are one of the Power BI charts that can be enhanced with AI for data analytics. The following section will teach you how to create a Sankey Diagram in Power BI.
Steps to Create a Sankey Diagram in Power BI
| Earnings Source | Revenue | Expenses & Profit | Departments | Categories | Amount |
| Providing services | Revenue | Expenses | Managerial | Training Sessions | 10,000 |
| Providing services | Revenue | Expenses | Managerial | Office rental | 16,000 |
| Providing services | Revenue | Expenses | Managerial | Wages | 9,400 |
| Providing services | Revenue | Expenses | Commercial | Wages | 11,300 |
| Sales of products | Revenue | Expenses | Commercial | Travel allowance | 10,000 |
| Sales of products | Revenue | Expenses | Commercial | Advertising | 12,000 |
| Sales of products | Revenue | Expenses | Production | Material Payment | 25,000 |
| Sales of products | Revenue | Expenses | Production | Loan Payment | 8,500 |
| Sales of products | Revenue | Expenses | Production | Wages | 19,500 |
| Loans | Revenue | Gross Profit | Taxes | 11,000 | |
| Loans | Revenue | Gross Profit | Net Profit | 13,000 |
Making powerful data visualizations in Power BI involves more than just including charts in a report; it involves using your data to convey an understandable, captivating, and useful story.
Establishing the purpose of your vision is the first step towards achieving this. What choice would this information assist someone in making? This guarantees that each visual component has a function.
Use Power BI features like drill-through, tooltips, and slicers to provide more functionality and engagement to reports. Many levels of data analysis may be performed by users without affecting the original image.
Finally, have actual stakeholders or consumers test your images. Their advice might help you make your reports more readable, applicable, and clear, ensuring that your Power BI visualizations not only look great but also offer useful data.
By transforming intricate numbers into narrative visualizations, Power BI simplifies data. To maintain resource control, finance teams visualize spending, projections, and budgets.
Dashboards that monitor audience engagement, campaign reach, and return on investment are made by marketing experts. On the other side, HR departments utilize it to examine employee retention rates, attendance, and performance.
Process mapping, resource flow monitoring, and bottleneck identification are all very beneficial to operations. To gauge customer happiness and identify areas for development, customer support teams use survey data in Power BI.
Every department can see the broad picture and take confident action thanks to Power BI’s data visualization capabilities, which are useful for both high-level planning and daily decision-making.
Picking the correct Power BI visualization assures that your data presents an interesting narrative and simplifies results.
Complex visualizations like Sankey diagrams, Likert scales, and comparison bar charts may be easily and rapidly created with ChartExpo without the need for complicated scripting, thereby increasing clarity and engagement.
Yes, Power BI is a great data visualization tool. It allows you to visualize and analyze data from different sources. It also has a user-friendly interface, powerful data modeling capabilities, and a variety of visualization options. You can use these visualizations to create interactive dashboards and reports in Power BI.
There are several advantages to using Power BI for data visualization. It is easy to use and offers lots of interactive visualizations. It also integrates with a wide range of data sources and comes with collaboration features.
We have discussed Power BI data visualizations, their advantages, and their importance in decision-making and KPI achievement.
We began by defining Power BI (PBI) and what we mean by visualizations in PBI.
We then looked at the best Power BI visualization types and Power BI visualization examples. These include area charts, doughnut charts, gauge charts, and treemaps.
Sankey diagrams are another type of data visualization that you can create with PBI. We used Sankey charts to demonstrate how you would create a PBI visualization, step by step.
We also answered some FAQs related to PBI visualizations.
You should now be ready to take the plunge and try PBI data visualizations.
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