Sankey charts are a type of diagram that use rectangular boxes to represent flow (aka “sources” or “towards”, e.g., from a coffee machine to a kettle) and label both the sources and destinations of flows. They’re used in many domains, such as finance, transportation, and process flow, to represent how things move like water in a pipe or people in a line.
Creating a Sankey Chart
To create a Sankey chart, you need to:
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Organize your data: Sankey charts are particularly good at illustrating how data moves in cycles or through multiple channels. So your analysis should include all the parts.
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Create your labels: Once you have your data organized, you’ll need to select each source and destination, and label the chart as necessary.
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Use the right shapes: This is where things can get tricky. For each flow, you can use a different shape, and sometimes even different sizes.
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Connect the dots: There’s a line between each point that you can use to connect them up. This is how all the different flows connect with each other.
An example of a Sankey Chart
In this image, you can see a sample data flow chart with a few different types of flows:
- A person walks from home to work.
- They spend their lunch break at home and then go to the gym.
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They drop off their dog at the dog park and pick it up again.
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On the other side, we have flow out: A work project ends with a small payout, but then ends up in the bank with less money, leaving less to the charity. They then pay their mortgage, spend on groceries, and make a coffee for an interview.
Flow Direction
With a Sankey chart, flow can move in one direction or both. It determines the flow direction from a source to a destination. For example:
- “From the sink to the tap” (sink-then-tap) flow.
- “From the tap to the sink” (tap-or-bend).
With both flow direction styles, the overall flow direction is the only thing that matters. However, some applications can have both directions. In that case, you also need to be consistent with how the lines go.
Source-Sink or Circular Diagrams
Circular diagram is a method for visualizing flow, where instead of having sources and destinations, a flow is depicted through a circular ring. Source is on the right, sink is on the left. And the direction of flow can still be specified with arrows.
While circular diagrams can represent more complex processes than Sankey charts, Sankey charts are very effective for visualizing very simple processes like a coffee flow or water in a drain. They are particularly well suited for visualizing things like processes and their components.
Applications of Sankey Charts
Sankey charts are effective at showing flow and where it comes from and goes to, making them invaluable in many business scenarios, such as sales and finance charts. They’re also excellent for visualization of process flow, such as energy transfer from power plants.
Sankey charts really shine in business and finance as they allow for very detailed analysis. Sankey charts can be used to visualize processes such as a car’s gas supply or coffee drip, as the flow in each process is important!
Conclusion
Sankey charts are extremely effective visual representations of process flow. They can showcase both the flow in one direction (such as a coffee flow) or both flows, which also allows to compare process flow. Sankey charts also provide a clear way to understand the direction of flow.
FAQ
- Is there an app that can help create Sankey charts?
- Are there any tools that can help add labels?
- Can a Sankey chart be used for something else, other than flow visualization?
- What other types of flow does a Sankey chart show?
- How do you know if a Sankey chart is effective?
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What are the advantages of using a Sankey chart
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Yes, you can use online tools or apps to create Sankey charts.
- I like using software like Tableau for creating the charts, it’s helpful to add labels and also provides data tables.
- Sankey charts can be used for much more than process flow visualization, it’s a versatile tool that can be used in visualization of anything, not only process flows.
- A Sankey chart usually shows two types of flow: sources and destinations.
- A Sankey chart is effective as it allows an clear depiction of how things move in a cycle or how data (or objects) move between different places.
- One of the main advantages in using Sankey charts is that it’s a clear visualization, it allows to see how the data flows, and it’s very versatile.
SankeyMaster
SankeyMaster is your go-to tool for creating complex Sankey charts . Easily enter data and create Sankey charts that accurately reveal intricate data relationships.
