Are Your Charts BORING? Use These Progress Circle Charts Instead!
Aug 1, 2023 1:00 PM

Are Your Charts BORING? Use These Progress Circle Charts Instead!

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Your charts are boring! That's why people aren't reading your reports. Progress Circle Charts are a powerful and interesting way to track milestones

Are Your Charts BORING? Use These Progress Circle Charts Instead! Your charts are boring! That's why people aren't reading your reports. Progress Circle Charts are a powerful and interesting way to track milestones and showcase achievements. They are surprisingly easy to create in Excel.

Excel Progress Circle Charts Guide

This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to create Excel Progress Circle Charts with and without segments using ratings data from a bike company stored in an Excel table.

Excel Progress Circle Charts with Seggments

Example Data

The bike company's ratings data is stored in an Excel table known as Table1.

Creating the PivotTable

To ensure the charts are interactive, a PivotTable is created, containing the Product and Rating fields, with the rating being summarized by the average. A calculated field is also added to the PivotTable to balance the data to 100%, as the progress charts work based on a 100% scale.

Segment Data

The segments in the chart can represent various milestones or aid in data interpretation. Here, the example uses 30 equal-sized segments, created using the SEQUENCE function. However, one can change the number of segments based on requirements or even vary the sizes to reflect specific milestones. Each segment needs to have labels for ease of interpretation.

Creating the Chart

To create the progress chart:

  1. Select the segment data and insert a doughnut chart.
  2. Remove the legend and colour the segments with a single colour fill and white border.
  3. Link the chart title to the first item in the PivotTable.
  4. Add the label and values for the first item in the PivotTable.
  5. Overlap the series by putting the second series on the secondary axis, so it sits on top of the segment series.
  6. Format the first segment of the second series with 'no fill'.
  7. Format the second segment of the second series in white with 25% transparency.
  8. Add a text box for the value in the centre of the chart, linking it to the Avg. Rating cell for the series.
  9. Set the text box and chart to have no border and no fill.
  10. Copy the chart and update the references for the remaining products in the PivotTable.
  11. Add a Slicer for the Category field.

Excel Circle Charts without Segments

For creating circle charts without segments, follow the above steps but skip the steps for creating segments. You might also like to make the doughnut hole bigger for aesthetics.

Alternate Progress Charts

If you're limited on space, consider alternate progress charts like actual vs target chart or bullet charts for progress charts with quantitative bands. These alternatives don't take up much space but provide efficient visualization.

More on the Importance of Progress Circle Charts

The usage of Progress Circle Charts can make a difference in the effectiveness of reports. They not only make the charts appealing but also provide a dynamic way of showcasing data. This visual representation helps in tracking milestones and achievements effectively. It simplifies complex data and leads to better understanding and engagement from the viewer. Plus, with Excel, creating these progress charts is surprisingly straightforward.

Learn about Are Your Charts BORING? Use These Progress Circle Charts Instead!

Progress Circle Charts are a powerful and interesting way to visually display progress or milestones. They are easy to create in Excel and can be used to track achievements and to make reports more interesting and engaging. To create a Progress Circle Chart, you will need to calculate the balance, set up the segments, and create the chart. Once the chart is created, you can formatting it for duplication, update it for different data, and add dynamic labels. You can also create smaller or compact charts. Additionally, there are other chart alternatives such as Thermometer Charts and Bullet Charts that can be used to make reports more interesting. With the help of these charts, you can make reports easier to read and understand.

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Keywords

Progress Circle Charts, Thermometer Charts, Bullet Charts, Excel Courses, Excel Forum, Dynamic Circle Charts, Dynamic Labels, PivotTable Autofitting, Circle Progress Charts without Segments, Compact Chart Options