Visualize the cumulative effect of sequentially introduced positive and negative values. The waterfall chart uses columns and colors to show how an initial value is affected by a series of intermediate positive and negative values.
- The initial and final values are represented by whole columns, while the intermediate values are displayed as floating columns. If you enable the totals feature on the Properties panel, a third column is added representing the sum of the positive and negative values.
- The colors of the columns tell you whether the values are positive, negative, or totals. By default, green is used for positive values, red for negative values, and blue for totals. You can change colors in several ways - by applying thresholds to metrics, by using the Properties panel to choose a custom color for positive values, negative values, or totals, and by using the Properties panel to specify the color for a specific metric. If you use multiple methods to control colors, the order in which the colors are applied is first the default colors, then custom colors for positive and negative values, then a color for a specific metric, and finally threshold colors.
- You can customize the look of the visualization by removing the Y axis entirely and adding the labels inside the columns. The labels are placed at the inner top of columns that represent positive values and at the inner bottom of columns that represent negative values. For cases where you want to highlight differences in a specific portion of the data, you can use the Properties panel to start at a number other than zero. For example, this is a good option if one column is so large that the incremental difference makes other columns appear as lines.
Waterfall charts are frequently used to visualize financial statements or data about population, births and deaths.
The waterfall chart shown below is based only on metrics. If you add an attribute, a succession of waterfalls is shown, with each waterfall representing the metric values for one element of the attribute. This is very useful for quick visual comparisons.
Requirements
Object requirements:
- Attributes: 0 (10.4 and later)
1 (10.2 and later) - Metrics: 1 - n metrics
Minimum Strategy version: 10.3
Current visualization version: 1.0
Publisher: Strategy
Strategy Features
Additional features
- Supports showing the continuity of accumulated values over time
To enable this feature, drag a time attribute and drop it in the Continuous drop zone on the Editor panel. When this feature is enabled, the starting point for each set of bars is the ending point for the previous set of bars. - Supports showing totals
To enable this feature, select the Show Totals checkbox in the Properties panel. The specified time dimension will be used to aggregate the totals. When this feature is enabled, a third column is added representing the sum of the positive and negative values. The color of this bar is determined by the value selected in the color picker for the Totals Bar Color in the Properties panel. - Supports displaying horizontal lines
To enable this feature, select the Show Horizontal Lines checkbox in the Properties panel. When this feature is enabled, horizontal lines are displayed at the level of each metric label on the Y-axis of the visualization.
Installation instructions
- To install this visualization, download the .zip file below and deploy it in Strategy Desktop or Strategy Web.
- Extract the D3Waterfall.zip and copy the D3Waterfall directory within the chosen environment's plugins folder Ex: (<Strategy Installation Path>/plugins/)
- Restart your chosen Strategy platform to complete the installation
- After you have installed the visualization, you can open a working demo by downloading the .mstr file below and doing the following:
- To open the demo visualization in Strategy Desktop, double click the .mstr file.
- To open the demo visualization in Strategy Web, choose Create -> Upload Strategy File -> View Dashboard.
Notes
This visualization might not auto-size when exporting via PDF.
Starting from version 2021, an OOTB waterfall visualization is bundled in Strategy. We recommend you use this OOTB visualization instead of the D3Waterfall provided on this page.
Visualization Disclaimer
By downloading or using this visualization, you accept and acknowledge these terms.
This visualization is both intended as sample code and provided as a convenience to Strategy users. Strategy cannot guarantee that the code provided will apply to any Strategy releases and clients outside of the versions stated within this article. This sample is supported by Strategy Technical Support up to and including the basic visualization functionality listed in this article. Defects will be triaged by the Strategy team as they are raised. For users with active Strategy Technical Support contracts, contact Strategy Technical Support to raise these defects.
Anyone seeking to use this visualization is encouraged to review and adapt this sample based on user requirements. Contact Strategy Professional Services for assistance with these same adaptations. If users would like to provide feedback on or recommendations for this visualization, post in the comments section of this article.
