As the digital age escalates and data become the currency of enterprise, the importance of data visualization cannot be overstressed. One such powerful and distinct visualization tool remains the venerable Sankey chart, a concept simple enough to be quickly adopted but complex enough to inspire awe on its capabilities.
A Beginner’s Introduction to the Sankey Chart
Fundamentally, a Sankey chart is a diagram with bars of varying widths that represent flows of information from the initial step to the final step. These flows are visualised by arrows with widths proportional to their flow volume—such as the number of units, the frequency, or the percentage the flow represents of the total. Their elegant and intricate design offers a bird’s eye view into the data composition and distribution, allowing the data to tell its story with unmatched flair.
The Journey of the Sankey Chart
Imagine a world where complex data sets are turned into effortless-to-understand diagrams—that is the promise of Sankey charts.
The origins of the Sankey chart can be traced back to a book named Famino’s Industrial Relations by Benjamin Sankey, published in 1858. He utilized an innovative iconographic system as a way to depict the flow of goods within an economy. This was essentially the seed from which evolved powerful business intelligence tools we are now familiar with.
Today, the use of Sankey diagrams extends far beyond just economic flow depiction into a myriad of applications. Some of these include energy flow representation, traffic analysis, and software performance metrics amongst many other fields.
Sankey Chart Creation Tools & Software
In today’s time there exist several user-friendly tools and software for creating Sankey charts. Some of these tools are—
- Sankey.fm: Easy-to-use web-based application which allows users to create beautiful and customized Sankey charts.
- JSankey: A Javascript library providing developers with the ability to create animated Sankey diagrams within their web applications.
- Chart.js: While it’s more of a generic data visualization library, Chart.js also supports Sankey charts.
There are numerous Python-based libraries such as Sankey and Complex-network-patterns that also facilitate the creation of these diagrams.
Applications of Sankey Charts in Business & Industry
Understanding how a Sankey chart can help business is integral to appreciating the tool’s utility. One of the primary applications is in process mining. By visualizing the flow of data across a task, engineers can detect bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and potential areas for optimization.
In finance, these charts are invaluable for tracking flows of capital, whether on an individual transaction or across entire financial ecosystems. Additionally, they are used in energy analysis, where the consumption breakdowns of household, industrial, and commercial sectors are vividly presented.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the application of Sankey charts is not limited to specific fields, rather they are a universal concept used to represent data flows. Their value lies in their uncomplicated approach to complicated structures, allowing users to gain insight into intricate datasets by glancing at a well-structured, appealing layout. With their continued evolution and adoption, it’s not farfetched to predict that the future of data visualization will have even more innovative uses of the Sankey chart.
Therefore, for those looking to simplify their data exploration and analysis, the Sankey chart presents an excellent pathway—uncomplicated, visually appealing, and deeply enlightening.
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.
