The right chart turns a spreadsheet into an insight. This guide shows you which chart to use for which question and which data. Watch the short video, then work with the toolkit PDF: it explains the method, shows a worked example and gives you a blank template to fill in.
Tool video
The short tool video will appear here.
Chart Selection Guide in short
- Start with a run chart. Plot your Y over time first. Is the process stable, or does it jump, drift or cycle?
- Name your question. Prioritize? Compare? See the spread? The question decides the chart.
- Check the data type. Counted data: Pareto, bar, pie or dot plot. Measured data: histogramA specialized bar chart showing the distribution, shape, center, and spread of continuous data using bins. Click term for full definition or box plotA chart displaying the five-number summary of a data set: minimum, Q1, median, Q3, and maximum. Also known as: Box-and-Whisker Plot. Click term for full definition.
- Draw it simply. Clear title, labelled axes, units. No 3D, no decoration.
- Write down the insight. One sentence per chart: what does it tell you?
Key points
- Visualize before you calculate.
- Run chart first: is the process stable?
- Counted data: Pareto and bar charts.
- Measured data: histogram and box plot.