Sankey charts are a powerful and visually appealing way to visualize the flow of data. They are named after Captain Matthew Henry Phineas Riall Sankey, who developed them to illustrate energy use in factories in the late 19th century. Since then, Sankey charts have been used in a variety of industries to show how data flows through systems. In this article, we will explore the power of Sankey charts, how they are created, and their various applications.
What are Sankey charts?
Sankey charts are a type of flow diagram that illustrate the movement of data from one group to another. They are characterized by their distinctive “Sankey” style, which uses arrows to represent the flow of data, with the width of the arrows proportional to the amount of flow. This makes it easy to see which groups are receiving or sending more data, and how data is distributed across different groups.
Creating Sankey charts
Creating a Sankey chart requires some basic data in the following format:
- Source nodes
- Target nodes
- Flow value
The source and target nodes represent the groups that the data is flowing between, while the flow value represents the amount of data that is flowing between these groups. This data can be presented in a variety of ways, such as a table, CSV or JSON file.
There are many tools available for creating Sankey charts, including online tools, libraries, and software programs. Some examples include:
- Microsoft Power BI
- Tableau
- Plotly.js
- D3.js
- Flourish
To create a Sankey chart, you will need to specify the source and target nodes and the flow values between them. You can then customize the appearance of the chart, including the colors used for the source and target nodes, the direction of the arrows, and the overall layout.
Applications of Sankey charts
Sankey charts are used in a variety of industries, including:
- Energy systems: Sankey charts are commonly used to illustrate how energy flows through a system. This can help to identify where energy is being wasted or how energy usage has changed over time.
- Business processes: Sankey charts can help businesses to visualize how different processes and systems are connected. This can help to identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies in the system.
- Financial flows: Sankey charts can be used to illustrate financial flows between different organizations or accounts. This can help to identify where money is being spent or invested and how it is moving through the system.
- Environmental flows: Sankey charts are useful for visualizing the flow of resources such as water or air. This can help to identify areas of pollution or how resources are being used and conserved.
- Data flows: Sankey charts are a powerful way to illustrate data flows within and between different systems. This can help to identify how data is being processed or how it is moving through the system.
- Machine learning processes: Sankey charts are useful for illustrating the flow of data or parameters through a machine learning model. This can help to identify where data is being transformed or how parameters are being updated during training.
- Network analysis: Sankey charts are useful for visualizing the flow of traffic or resources through a network. This can help to identify crucial connections, or bottlenecks in the network.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Sankey charts are a powerful and versatile tool for visualizing the flow of data. They are easy to create using various tools and libraries, and their customizable design allows you to tailor them to your specific needs. With its ability to illustrate complex systems, and highlight important data flows, Sankey charts are a valuable asset to any data visualization project.
SankeyMaster
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