Combination chart

tom.harrington

A combination chart is formed of a mixture of area, column, dot and line charts. A different type of chart can be assigned to each data series, which are then displayed simultaneously upon the same chart. A second axis can be added to the right hand-side of the chart to help compare disparate data series.

 

To learn how to add a combination chart to a board or worksheet, see 'Add cards to a board' and 'Add cards to a worksheet'.

 

 

What can I use combination charts for?

Comparing different series of data in a wide variety of ways — the ability to combine different types of charts makes many types of comparison possible. This approach is useful when visualizing a high number of data series.

 

A popular use of combination charts is to have a line or dot chart displayed over a column or area chart, allowing for immediate comparison of two or more data series over time. Additionally, by plotting one data series against a separate axis on the right-hand side of the chart, you can compare data series with disparate values to see if there is a correlation between them. 

 

Combination charts are often used to display data against a target or forecast, as seen in the image above.

 

Use a combination chart to answer the question:

• How do our actual results compare to our forecast results?

• Have we, and will we, hit our targets for this financial year?

• How does A differ from B?

• Have sales increased over the last financial year?

• What are the fluctuations in X?

Some drawbacks of using a combination chart:

• The wide variety of choice can be overwhelming when creating them.

• Using too many data series or types of chart can be difficult for the reader of a chart to understand, and can get cluttered.

Use a different type of chart if:

• you are performing a simple comparison for one category of data over time (use a column chart or line chart).
• you have a small amount of data to analyze (use a column chart or KPI card)
• you want to highlight proportions within your data (use an area, pie or stacked bar or column chart)

To learn about other types of chart, see Chart types in detail.