Charts / CH-COR-06
CH-COR-06 . family COR

PARALLEL COORDINATES

one polyline per item across 3-5 vertical zero-based axes. Needs: 6-12 items measured on 3-5 dimensions; one item highlighted.

correlationpattern

DL-01 AGRAW
System D pairs low progress with every other deficit Progress 0 to 100% Punch 0 to 80 Docs 0 to 100% Staff 0 to 50 D Source: sample dataset v1, 2026-07-12

Use when

  • WARN: analyst-only views for spotting multi-dimensional profiles
  • finding which items move together across 3-5 measures

Do not use when

  • general audiences (line crossings read as meaning; they are layout)
  • more than ~12 items (spaghetti)

See instead

Alternatives

  • CH-COR-01 (two dimensions)
  • CH-TAB-02 (exact values per cell)

Rules

  • every axis zero-based with its own top, both printed at the axis head
  • context lines muted and translucent; the one highlight carries the story
  • axis order is part of the spec: reordering changes the picture

Never do this

  • WARN ENTRY: crossings between axes are artifacts of axis order, not relationships; analysts only
  • min-max normalization hiding the zero
  • more than 12 lines

QA before delivering

  • axes zero-based and labeled
  • highlight <= 1
  • <= 12 items
  • source present

Data shape

titleaction title naming the profile
sourcebottom-left always
axes[{name, unit}] 3-5, each zero-based
items[{label, values, highlight?}]
Sample data (golden) 
{
  "title": "System D pairs low progress with every other deficit",
  "eyebrow": "SYSTEM PROFILES . WEEK 28",
  "source": "Source: sample dataset v1, 2026-07-12",
  "axes": [
    {
      "name": "Progress",
      "unit": "%"
    },
    {
      "name": "Punch",
      "unit": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "Docs",
      "unit": "%"
    },
    {
      "name": "Staff",
      "unit": ""
    }
  ],
  "items": [
    {
      "label": "A",
      "values": [
        92,
        12,
        95,
        40
      ]
    },
    {
      "label": "B",
      "values": [
        88,
        18,
        90,
        38
      ]
    },
    {
      "label": "C",
      "values": [
        74,
        25,
        80,
        30
      ]
    },
    {
      "label": "D",
      "values": [
        41,
        63,
        55,
        45
      ],
      "highlight": true
    },
    {
      "label": "E",
      "values": [
        66,
        31,
        75,
        28
      ]
    },
    {
      "label": "F",
      "values": [
        80,
        22,
        85,
        33
      ]
    },
    {
      "label": "G",
      "values": [
        70,
        28,
        78,
        26
      ]
    },
    {
      "label": "H",
      "values": [
        85,
        15,
        88,
        35
      ]
    }
  ]
}