Sankey Chart

Version

Application Scenario

Sankey chart is a type of chart used to visualize data flows. The chart represents the magnitude of data flows by the width of the branches extending in the chart. In a Sankey chart, the direction of the lines represents the direction of data flows, and the changes in line width visually display data variations.

A Sankey chart is very suitable for visualization analysis of data related to energy, material composition, finance, and website user traffic. Through the chart, the flow and magnitude of connections between different nodes can be clearly displayed.

For example, a seafood wholesale supplier ships products to stores across the country based on order requirements. The supplier wants to predict which seafood products need to be restocked in the future but is unsure about the order details, including which seafood products have more orders and where they are sold.

Now, the supplier wants to analyze which are the top five best-selling seafood products and identify the stores where these products were sold. Through a Sankey chart, you can visualize the stores to which each product flows. The thickness of the lines represents flow volumes.

Basic Requirement

Chart Feature

1. Advantage

Intuitiveness: A Sankey chart visually displays data flow magnitude through the width of arrows or bars for easy understanding.

Energy conservation: The design of a Sankey chart adheres to the principle of energy conservation (the total volume flowing in equaling the total volume flowing out), which helps to display the equilibrium state of data.

2. Disadvantage

Complexity: For a Sankey chart with complex data flow paths or too many nodes, it may become difficult to interpret and understand the chart.

Detail limitation: A Sankey chart may be less effective for displaying very detailed data flows, especially when there are small differences in flow volumes between data points.

Demo View

You can click Sankey Chart Demo to go to the preview page where you can learn and use the online project to get started.

Data Preparation

1. Log in to FineBI, click My Analysis, select a folder, and click New Subject, as shown in the following figure.

2. Click Local Excel and click Upload Data, as shown in the following figure.

You can download the sample data: Order Sales Detail Table.xlsx.

3. Click OK after the data is uploaded.

4. Click Save and Update to complete the data creation, as shown in the following figure.

Creating a Component

1. Click Component in the lower left corner.

2. Select Sankey Chart in Chart Type.

3. Drag the field Product Name in the left to-be-analyzed area into Graphic Property > Start, drag the field Store Name into End, and drag the field Order Amount into Size, as shown in the following figure.

Note:

Zero or negative values in the data table will be filtered and not displayed.

4. Click the drop-down button next to the field Product Name in Start, select Filter from the drop-down list, click the  icon to delete the original condition in the pop-up setting box, click Add Condition, select the field Order Amount, and set the condition to Largest N, Fixed Value, and 5 in sequence to filter the top five products in order amounts, as shown in the following figure.

Component Beautification

1. Distinguish different product flows with different colors. Drag the field Product Name in the left to-be-analyzed area into Graphic Property > Color, as shown in the following figure.

2. Add graphical labels for the starting and ending points. Click Label in Graphic Property and select Display Node Name in the pop-up setting box, as shown in the following figure.

For details about more color, label, prompt, and fine-grained settings, see Graphic Property.

For details about more legend, gridline, background, and adaptation settings, see Chart Component Style.

Dashboard Creation

1. Click the Add Dashboard button at the bottom of the analysis subject editing page.

2. Drag the component into the dashboard on the dashboard editing page, as shown in the following figure.

3. Select Edit Title from the drop-down list, set Font Style to Custom, set the title to Sankey Chart: Double Nodes, and click OK.

Effect Display

1. PC

2. Mobile Terminal

Data Preparation

No further elaboration will be provided in this section. For details, see section "Data Preparation."

You can download the sample data: Sankey Chart.xlsx.

Source: represents the start point of data flows.

Target: represents the end point of data flows.

Number of people: measures the size of flow volumes.

For example, you can create a Sankey chart using this Excel sheet, with the flow direction from genders, used phone brands, to ages. Phone brands should be both the starting and ending point.

Component Creation

1. Click Component in the lower left corner.

2. Select Sankey Chart in Chart Type.

3. Drag the field Source in the left to-be-analyzed area into Graphic Property > Start, drag the field Target into End, and drag the field Number of People into Size, as shown in the following figure.

Component Beautification

1. Distinguish different product flows with different colors. Drag the field Source in the left to-be-analyzed area into Graphic Property > Color, as shown in the following figure.

2. Add graphical labels for the starting and ending points. Click Label in Graphic Property and select Display Node Name in the pop-up setting box, as shown in the following figure.

Dashboard Creation

For details, see section "Dashboard Creation." (In this section you need to set the title to Sankey Chart: Triple Nodes.)

Effect Display

1. PC

2. Mobile Terminal