Introduction
When designing studies with Energy BI or another instrument, it’s important to observe particular pointers.
IBCS supplies a really invaluable ruleset for this objective.
Nonetheless, whereas some guidelines will be simply carried out utilizing Energy BI options, others can’t.
There are some customized visuals, akin to Zebra BI, which have options to adjust to all IBCS guidelines when visualizing information.
Some guidelines will be carried out with the native function set of Energy BI.
Nonetheless, when visualizing information, the native function set of Energy BI have to be utilized in a specific method to adhere to the IBCS ruleset.
However first, let’s study the IBCS ruleset.
IBCS Guidelines
The IBCS guidelines consist of seven guidelines:
S (ay) What’s your message?
U (nify) Use a constant notation
C (ondense) Improve info density
C (heck) Be certain the visualizations observe a typical rule (integrity)
E (xpress) Don’t use fancy visuals — Use easy visuals
S (implify) Take away pointless stuff
S (tructure) Observe a logical construction
In brief: SUCCESS.
I’ve already written an article on this matter. You will get it right here: https://medium.com/cloud-workers/three-simple-rules-for-information-design-52db54864b47
You may go to the IBCS webpage right here: https://www.ibcs.com/ibcs-standards-1-2/.
Sadly, it is a industrial entity, and it’s essential to pay to acquire the whole rule set, together with its accompanying documentation.
I’ll do my greatest to information you on following the foundations with out requiring you to know the entire rule set.
Let’s dig into the completely different features of the ruleset.
1. Content material of titles
The titles should describe the content material of a report.
Customers should be capable to perceive what they’re taking a look at by studying the title.
Subsequently, the title(s) should include the next info:
- Subject
- Enterprise unit
For which enterprise unit are the offered numbers? - The unit and the scaling
For instance, EUR, USD, Quantity of Items, and many others., and if a scaling is utilized, for example tEUR, if the numbers are for hundreds of Euros (Divided by 1’000). - The time-frame and the comparability state of affairs
For instance, for the 12 months 2024 and PY or 2025 and FC (Forecast)
As we work with dynamic content material, which modifications by the consumer’s choice within the slicers, we should implement dynamic titles.
I recommend setting the principle title for the subject, the enterprise unit, the subtitle for the unit, the scaling, and the timeframe:
I omitted including the scaling to the subtitle, because the slicer to pick out it’s instantly beneath. This can be a frequent trick to keep away from too prolonged titles or subtitles.
As you’ll be able to see, I’ve added a lightweight gray background to the report. I take advantage of this to focus on the visuals and the slicers.
You may increase the trick for decreasing the title size by including slicers for the 12 months and month to the highest of the report. On this means, the chosen interval is seen along with the web page title, and we will keep away from redundancy and complexity for the dynamic title:
1.1. Dynamic Titles
As described earlier than, it’s important that the customers can see what they’re taking a look at from the title or subtitle.
We should create dynamic titles with DAX expressions to show the consumer’s collection of the slicers within the title or subtitle.
I already wrote an article about this matter: https://medium.com/microsoft-power-bi/creating-dynamic-texts-based-on-hierarchies-in-power-bi-97ff6cf3517e
There, I described how one can deal with completely different eventualities, together with creating dynamic titles from hierarchies.
2. Keep away from Redundancy
Usually talking, redundancy is a foul thought.
Why duplicate what you have already got?
The one purpose is for safety or operational causes.
It’s a good suggestion to retailer information in redundant storage. This ensures that if the information is broken in a single location, it stays obtainable in one other.
However within the realm of reporting, redundancy stays a foul thought.
A couple of concepts:
- If the report’s title is “Gross sales report”, why would you add “Gross sales over time” within the title of a visible on the identical web page?
- If a line or column chart exhibits the months’ names on the X-axis, why add the sentence “over time” or “per thirty days” to the title?
- Why preserve the axis title seen if the content material is comprehensible with out it?
- For those who show gross sales per location, take away any redundant mentions of location, akin to within the studies and visible title.
These are only some examples of what could cause redundancy on a report web page.
My Tip: After finishing the design of a report, examine it for redundancy. Ask the report shoppers in the event that they perceive what you might be displaying on the report, after eradicating the redundancy.
Keep in mind: Shoppers are clever people who can determine what they’re taking a look at with out prolonged descriptions.
Let’s take a look at a foul instance:
You may see that the “Gross sales” time period is repeated thrice
- In the principle title
- Within the visuals title
- Within the title of the X axis
The identical applies to the nation label.
Once I take away all of the redundancies, it may appear to be this:
Now you’ll be able to see what it seems like after eradicating the redundancies.
Be aware that I added “Quantity” to the visuals title to make sure that the buyer understands that it’s about cash. If essential, add the forex.
I might add “Amount” if it have been in regards to the amount of offered articles.
By the way in which, you may need observed that one thing is lacking from the report proven above. Have you ever seen what?
.
.
.
I didn’t embody the title and subtitle as described within the first chapter.
This was due to time constraints. Sorry for that.
3. What’s the message?
A message needs to be on the heart of every report (web page).
What might be a message?
- The distinction within the gross sales quantity versus the earlier 12 months
- Or versus the deliberate quantity, just like the forecast or another planning quantity
- The conversion charge of a area versus the identical measure over your complete firm
Ultimately, it’s all about evaluating a worth with a reference worth to provide that means to a quantity.
One in all my shoppers needed to match the speed of worker turnover by division with the identical charge throughout your complete firm.
Every division supervisor was capable of see if he fared higher or worse than your complete firm.
Energy BI affords two visuals to point out this:
- The KPI Visible
- The brand new card visible (in preview as of the time of writing)
Let’s see what we will do with the brand new card visible:
I highlighted the 2 reference and element values for the comparability with the earlier 12 months for the product group “Digital Cameras”.
When positioned on prime of the web page, the buyer will instantly see how the 2 gross sales channels are performing, while not having to view a line chart with too many particulars.
Typically that is sufficient info for the gross sales director or one other supervisor.
We will place detailed charts or tables beneath these two numbers. The patron can determine whether or not the knowledge on the chart is fascinating or not.
Sadly, the Microsoft documentation shouldn’t be updated, regardless of this visible having been obtainable for nearly two years now and remaining in Preview.
Watch this video for a radical description of the brand new card:
And this one to see the newest function additions:
Nonetheless, you’ll be able to nonetheless use the traditional KPI visible for this objective.
The purpose right here is to not present how one can use this “new” card visible.
The important thing level now’s to prominently show the numbers that matter most to your viewers in a transparent and easy-to-read format.
Take into consideration the way you learn your information.
You begin with the headlines. If you’re within the particulars, you’ll proceed studying the total article. If not, you go forward. This can be a regular human conduct, and we must always take it into consideration when designing our studies.
4. Coloring columns and bars
Final however not least, let’s speak about colours.
In line with IBCS, columns and bars needs to be coloured with the next guidelines:
- Darkish-grey for the present information (Precise 12 months or interval)
- Gentle gray for the earlier 12 months or the earlier interval
- Diagonally hatched for forecast information
- White with a black border for plan or finances information
Different colours are used as follows:
- Black for textual content, axes, and features
- Inexperienced for a constructive deviation
- Blue-green for a constructive deviation supposed for visually impaired or color-blind customers
- Purple for unfavourable deviation
- Center-Gray for a impartial deviation (When the deviation is neither good nor unhealthy)
I used this when the deviation is, let’s say, between -3 % and three % - Blue for highlighting one thing
Whereas most of those guidelines make sense, some others don’t.
For instance, which shade can you employ when evaluating two classes?
For instance: this, when evaluating the present information from completely different continents:
This fashion, whereas it conforms with IBCS, you can’t distinguish between the three continents.
This may be one other means:
That is higher, because it permits for a transparent distinction between the continents whereas avoiding utilizing overly shiny colours.
Now, take a look at the next image, which exhibits the identical visible, however in grayscale:
Despite the fact that it’s more durable to learn, it’s nonetheless attainable.
This may be one thing that somebody who’s visually impaired sees.
When contemplating all members of your viewers, this is a vital take a look at to conduct to make sure that everybody can learn and perceive the information.
It will likely be more difficult when evaluating a number of classes.
One subject stays: The way to show the hatched bars or columns?
As of right now, that is presently not attainable in Energy BI, and I don’t have an answer for this. Discuss to your stakeholders to outline a viable resolution for this.
I might use a gray tone to show forecast information. It’s not customary, nevertheless it’s a means to attract consideration to it.
However displaying finances information in the appropriate means is feasible:
As you’ll be able to see, that is very simple to do.
One shopper makes use of darkish blue as the first firm shade. We used this shade as an alternative of black for the information of the present 12 months.
What’s unclear is how one can deal with the colour when the consumer selects a earlier 12 months.
The information will not show the present outcomes, however as an alternative these of the (chosen) earlier 12 months.
In all circumstances, we didn’t make a distinction between these circumstances.
The present 12 months is all the time the chosen 12 months.
This is sensible, as IBCS doesn’t outline which shade the 12 months earlier than the earlier 12 months can have.
There may be another subject: The coloring guidelines lead to a comparatively uninteresting look of the report. I encountered this a number of occasions when implementing these guidelines.
More often than not, we barely deviate from these guidelines whereas avoiding the usage of too many colours. It’s a advantageous line between doing it in “the appropriate means” and going a step too far with the colours.
The principle factor is to outline a shade customary and persist with it. Be certain that colours are used equally for a similar eventualities and conditions.
Conclusion
IBSC is a really fascinating ruleset.
It might probably make life simpler, because it provides us a suggestion on how one can design our studies and guarantee good usability. However Energy BI doesn’t have all of the options required to implement the ruleset totally.
I omitted another particulars, which is able to make life even more durable.
There are IBCS-compliant customized visuals, that are extraordinarily useful as they supply a straightforward method to show deviations with out the necessity to create measures for them.
The 2 main suppliers are Zebra BI and xViz with their Inforiver Visuals.
There are different customized visuals, akin to these from 3AG, which give some protection of the usual.
If you wish to embark on the street to full IBCS compliance, you’ll be able to go to their web site to study extra about them.
My purpose right here was to exhibit what you’ll be able to obtain with Energy BI’s out-of-the-box options.
I hope that you just discovered one thing.
References
The IBCS web site will be discovered right here: https://www.ibcs.com/
You may discover the Zebra BI Visuals right here: https://zebrabi.com/
Right here is the web site of xViz, with their product suite: https://inforiver.com/
Like in my earlier articles, I take advantage of the Contoso pattern dataset. You may obtain the ContosoRetailDW Dataset without cost from Microsoft here.
The Contoso information will be freely used underneath the MIT License, as described in this document. I modified the dataset to shift the information to up to date dates.
