KPI Charts

KPI charts are based on two metrics: a primary metric and a comparison metric. They allow you to visualize the results of comparing the metrics and show positive or negative dynamics. They are supported by all Composer data connectors.

This topic describes:

• Configure Default KPI Chart Settings for a Data Source
• Configure Settings for a Specific KPI Chart
• Configure Colors for a Specific KPI Chart
• Understand Visual Color Condition Thresholds

Configure Default KPI Chart Settings for a Data Source

To configure the default KPI chart settings in a data source configuration:

1. Make sure you are logged in as a Composer administrator or as a user assigned to a group that can edit data source configurations.

2. Edit the appropriate data source configuration. See Edit a Data Source Configuration.

3. Select the Visuals tab in the data source configuration wizard.

4. On the Standard subtab of the Visuals tab, select KPI.

   If you want to be able to display the data collected by this data source configuration as a KPI chart, make sure the KPI checkbox is selected.

   Default KPI chart settings appear on the right side of the page.

5. Configure the default settings as follows:

   Setting	Description
   Metric	Select the primary metric to show on the visual.
   Color Metric	Select the metric that affects the segment color in the visual. You can also define the default aggregation function used for the metric values: SUM, AVG, MAX, MIN, or (for some data sources) LAST VALUE. See Metric Aggregation Functions.
   Comparison Metric	Select the metric that you want to compare with the primary metric (selected from the Metric list). By default, this is set to NONE. This option is not required. You can also select the aggregation functions for the metrics from the list. You can also define the default aggregation function used for the metric values: SUM, AVG, MAX, MIN, or (for some data sources) LAST VALUE. See Metric Aggregation Functions.

6. Select .

Configure Settings for a Specific KPI Chart

To change the settings for a specific KPI chart:

1. Edit the KPI chart you want to modify. See Edit Visuals.

2. If you are editing the visual in a dashboard, select Edit Visual from the visual drop-down menu. The sidebar menu for the visual appears.

   If you are editing the visual from the Visual Gallery, the sidebar appears to the right of the visual.

3. Select on the sidebar menu. The KPI Chart Settings sidebar for the visual appears.

   

4. Alter the settings as needed:

   Setting	Description
   Show Variance	Slide the Show Variance slider on (to the right) to see variance data.
   Show Arrow Indicators	Slide the Show Arrow Indicator slider on (to the right) to show up and down arrows that indicate whether the change is positive or negative.
   Show Comparison	Slide the Show Comparison slider on (to the right) to show comparison data.
   Comparison Format	If the Show Comparison option is on, you can select whether the variance data is shown as raw data or as percentages. Select Value to see raw data differences; select Percentage to see percentages.

5. Select to save the dashboard and the visual with its updated settings.

Configure Colors for a Specific KPI Chart

To specify the color settings for a specific KPI chart using the Color sidebar:

1. Edit the visual you want to modify. See Edit Visuals.

2. If you are editing the visual in a dashboard, select Edit Visual from the chart drop-down menu. The sidebar menu for the visual appears. If you are editing the visual from the Visual Gallery, the sidebar appears to the right of the visual.

   Select on the sidebar menu. The Color sidebar for the visual appears.

   

3. Configure the color settings as described below. As you change the color settings, the legend at the top of the Color sidebar shows how the legend will appear on the visual. Supported color specifications are described in Specify Colors.

   Setting	Description
   Legend	Slide the bar to the right if you want the legend to be displayed on the visual or to the left to hide the legend.
   Label Color	Select a label color.
   Down Arrow Color	Select a down arrow color.
   Up Arrow Color	Select an up arrow color.
   Background Color	Select the background color.
   Comparison Data Color	Select a comparison data color.
   Color Metric	Select the metric that affects the segment color in the visual. You can also define the default aggregation function used for the metric values: SUM, AVG, MAX, MIN, or (for some data sources) LAST VALUE. See Metric Aggregation Functions.
   Color Palette	If a color palette is specified for this visual type in the data source defaults, select the color palette for this specific visual. If a color range is selected for KPI charts in the data source defaults, this setting is not available.
   Color Mode	Select Distinct Colors or Gradient to identify the way colors are used on the screen. Either specific distinct colors will be used or a gradient of colors will be used. (This is equivalent to the Legend Type default settings on the Visuals tab of the data source configuration.)
   Threshold Mode	If you selected the Gradient color mode, this setting cannot be changed. If you selected the Distinct Colors color mode, select either Auto or Manual from the drop-down list. Auto will automatically assign thresholds and colors for the visual. Manual allows you to change the thresholds and colors used on the visual.
   Number of colors	Specify the number of colors to use for the visual.
   Color Rules	Color rules allow you to change the colors for each color used for the visual. In addition, if you specified a Manual threshold mode, you can select the thresholds used for color settings in the visual. See Understand Visual Color Condition Thresholds.

4. Close the Color sidebar and the color settings are dynamically applied to the visual.

5. Select to save the dashboard and the visual with its updated settings.

Understand Visual Color Condition Thresholds

You can set threshold color conditions for metric-based visuals. At least two color settings are required. In addition, thresholds are specified between each color setting. (So three color settings require two threshold settings; four color settings require three threshold settings, etc.)

• The color for Color 1 is used when the value of the color metric is less than the first threshold value.

• The color for Color 2 is used when the value of the color metric falls between the first and second threshold values.

• If only three colors are used for the visual, the color for Color 3 is used when the value of the color metric is greater than or equal to the second threshold value.

  If more than three colors are used, the color for Color 3 is used when the value of the color metric falls between the second and third threshold values.

  When more than three colors are used, the colors continue to be applied in this pattern for all threshold settings; any color metric values greater than the last threshold setting have the final color applied.

You can have Composer automatically set the thresholds or you can manually set them.

For information about the color encoding supported by Composer, see Specify Colors.