Creating Sankey Charts for Business Analytics can be an eye-opening experience and a valuable asset in understanding the flow and efficiency of your business processes. Essentially, these diagrams visualize how processes, systems, and organizations use energy, materials, money, etc. by depicting the flow through various steps or sectors. Below is a hands-on guide to crafting powerful Sankey Charts that can enhance your business analytics.
### Step 1: Identify Your Objective
The first step is to determine what you wish to visualize. Sankey Charts are best used when you want to:
– Observe transfer rates of materials or energy.
– Examine the flow of currency and other resources.
– Monitor progress through different phases of a process.
– Visualize hierarchies and connectivity in an organization.
### Step 2: Gather Data
To create a Sankey chart, you need a clear view of the entities involved in the flow along with the quantity or magnitude of the flow at each transition or link. Collect your data from pertinent sources, ensuring you have:
– The flow quantity for the incoming and outgoing amounts at each stage.
– The categories, labels, or sectors that represent your process phases.
– Specific details that help you determine the thickness of the arrows in the chart — the thickness corresponds to the magnitude of the flow.
### Step 3: Choose the Appropriate Tools for Drawing
Selecting the right tool is critical to ensure your Sankey Chart is clear and impactful. Consider these popular tools:
– **D3.js**: A powerful JavaScript library that allows for the creation of complex, interactive visualizations.
– **Tableau**: Known for its user-friendly interface and strong data visualization capabilities.
– **Python’s Sankey Library**: A Python library that can create and modify Sankey diagrams, with good integration for Excel and other tools.
– **Excel**: Basic but versatile; suitable for creating simple Sankey charts.
– **Google Charts Sankey**: A tool within Google Sheets and Google Data Studio that simplifies the creation of Sankey charts.
### Step 4: Structure Your Flow chart
Once you’ve chosen your tool, you’ll need to map out your Sankey chart. Here’s the basic structural process:
1. **Define Nodes**: Each sector of the Sankey Chart is considered a node. Label nodes clearly.
2. **Set Up Links**: These represent the flows between nodes. For each flow, determine the starting and ending nodes, and the volume of the flow.
3. **Configure the Scale**: Adjust the thickness of the links to visually represent the amount of flow; larger flows should be depicted thicker.
4. **Adjust Angles and Alignment**: The angles between the arrows should be consistent and aligned with the real-world process.
5. **Format the Chart**: Apply color-coding and formatting to improve readability. Ensure the text is clear and legible.
### Step 5: Customize and Enhance Your Sankey Chart
Customization is key for effective communication:
– **Titles and Legend**: Include a title that summarizes the goal of the Sankey Chart and a legend that explains the color coding and scale.
– **Adjusting the Scale**: The y-axis on a Sankey chart represents the process; ensure it’s scaled appropriately to represent your data.
– **Highlighting Key Information**: Use color intensity or pattern variations in a subtle way to differentiate high-flow sectors.
– **Interactivity**: Consider adding interactivity that allows users to hover over different arrows to see detailed data.
### Step 6: Review and Iterate
Once your Sankey Chart is complete, review it alongside peers or users to ensure it communicates the intended message clearly. Be prepared to revise:
– The thickness of arrows to accurately reflect flow volumes.
– The clarity of labels and whether the color themes are accessible to people with color perception impairments.
– The overall readability and organization of the chart.
By following these steps, you can create Sankey Charts that are powerful tools for business analytics, allowing you to visualize and optimize complex business processes. Remember, the key to any Sankey chart is clarity, and its ultimate purpose is to provide actionable insights that drive improvements and help you make informed decisions.
