Title: Understanding Sankey Charts with Essential Visual Clarity
In a world that’s constantly changing, being able to navigate through complex data and processes is crucial. Sankey charts, a versatile and intuitive visualization tool, can help achieve this goal. Sankey charts are primarily used for visualizing data flows, such as the movement of money (flow diagrams) or the flow of energy (flow diagrams for processes and systems). The term “Sankey” is derived from the old-school drawing method of using sankepans, which are inked circles depicting the flow of water.
The creation and application of Sankey charts might seem daunting at first, but with essential visual clarity, anyone can understand this powerful tool. This article aims to provide an overview of Sankey chart basics, its types, and applications, and to demystify the complex topic, one concept at a time.
What is a Sankey Diagram?
To understand what a Sankey chart means, first, let’s talk about a flow diagram. Flow diagrams are used to visualize processes and systems, showing the movement of resources such as money or energy through different stages or steps. A Sankey chart is a flow diagram where the direction of the flow is emphasized, making it useful for visualizing complex interactions and data flows.
Each Sankey line within the chart represents a flow, and a key at the bottom of the chart tells you what each line entails. For instance, line V to U indicates the flow coming from “V” to “U”. You connect the V circle to the flow’s source, to “VU”, and also to the flow’s destination, “U” as the arrow points to ‘U’. The circles represent resources like people, money, or processes, and the lines represent the flow of resources within the diagram.
Types of Sankey Diagrams
There are two main types of Sankey diagrams:
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Supply and Demand Diagrams: Useful for visualizing and comparing different flows of resources (money, energy, labor)
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Activity-based Flow Diagrams: Useful for visualizing complex processes where each activity receives different amounts of resources
Sankey flow diagrams:
Sankey flow diagrams represent multiple lines of data, and you can add a key to help understand flow direction. For example, the diagram above represents multiple flows: A company receiving money to spend, money then being spent in different departments, and the balance transferred back to the bank (or customers).
Demand-side flow diagrams:
These are the more popular type, also known as a supply and demand diagram. Typically, the demand side of the diagram represents what resources need to be distributed (like people or labor), and the supply side represents what resources are available.
Activity-based flow diagrams:
These are specific flow diagrams where activities receive different amounts of resources, allowing for a deeper dive into the activity-based complexity of a process.
What can Sankey diagrams be used for?
Sankey charts are mainly used for three main purposes:
- Visualization of data flows
- Analysis and comparisons of various flow directions
- Understanding complex processes and system interactions
The diagrams can be used across many industries, from finance and economics to healthcare and logistics. For example, in healthcare, you could visualize the flow of money spent on treatments, which doctors need to pay for, to the actual patients who receive the treatments.
Applying Sankey charts
Here are the key steps in applying a Sankey chart:
- Decide on the flow and direction of the information: Is it a supply and demand diagram, an activity-based diagram, or a combination of both?
- Choose the appropriate data points: Gather your data, and decide how many lines to include. Be mindful of the complexity of the system you want to represent.
- Draw the Sankey lines: Connect the points using the lines. Be sure to connect them in a way that makes sense for your flow direction.
Here’s an example of how to apply this to some real data:
Example Scenario
Imagine a healthcare system where doctors receive a budget from the administration to treat patients. You are creating a Sankey diagram that represents how doctors allocate the money budgeted for each patient. Each line represents a separate doctor, and each dot on the line represents a particular patient they treat with the money from the budget.
Conclusion
The use of Sankey charts is a versatile tool for visualizing complex flow diagrams and data flow in various industries. With essential understanding, even the most complex data can be easily translated into visuals. The key lies in the careful selection of data points and a clear understanding of the flow direction of the data. Using Sankey charts can help make complex ideas and processes easier to understand, making decision-making processes more reliable and effective.
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