Analytical patterns
The layer above charts. First recognize what the data shows, then read what it means, then take the recommended chart codes into the language chosen via the decider.
TREND
Recognize: a measure moves in one direction across ordered periods; slope is the signal
It means: the process has momentum, up or down
Business reading: extrapolate cautiously; name the driver before promising continuation
Avoid:
- pie snapshots of single periods
- bar-per-period when the line IS the story
OUTLIER
Recognize: one entity sits far from the pack on one or two measures
It means: something structurally different is happening there
Business reading: investigate the outlier before averaging it away; averages hide it
Avoid:
- aggregated summaries that absorb the outlier
- removing it silently
GAP-TO-PLAN
Recognize: cumulative actual diverges from cumulative plan; the wedge widens or narrows
It means: execution is ahead or behind commitment
Business reading: quantify the gap in units AND time; state the recovery assumption
Avoid:
- period (non-cumulative) bars that hide accumulated slippage
- truncated baselines
CONCENTRATION
Recognize: a few categories hold most of the total (80/20 shape)
It means: leverage and risk both live in the top few
Business reading: manage the heavy heads individually; batch the tail
Avoid:
- pies with more than 3 slices
- equal visual weight for head and tail
MIX-SHIFT
Recognize: the composition of a total changes across periods even if the total does not
It means: the business is becoming something else underneath a stable headline
Business reading: state which segment is winning share and at whose expense
Avoid:
- two pies side by side
- 100% stacked when the total is also moving (hides growth)
THRESHOLD-BREACH
Recognize: a value crosses a defined limit (SLA, budget, capacity, safety)
It means: a commitment is broken; this is an event, not a trend
Business reading: every breach needs an owner and an ask; no breach without a name
Avoid:
- burying breaches in averages
- color-only breach markers
DRIVER-DECOMPOSITION
Recognize: a total moved and several named factors explain the move
It means: the delta has an anatomy; drivers are additive
Business reading: rank drivers by contribution; act on the top one first
Avoid:
- before/after bars with no bridge
- unquantified 'multiple factors' narratives
CYCLE
Recognize: values repeat by weekday, month, shift, or season across periods
It means: the pattern is structural, not noise
Business reading: plan capacity around the peak, do not chase it as an anomaly
Avoid:
- averaging across the cycle (kills the pattern)
- treating a seasonal peak as a trend