¶ Creating Pie Charts and Donut Charts for Proportional Data in SAP Lumira
Visualizing proportional data effectively is crucial for delivering clear and impactful insights. Among various visualization types, pie charts and donut charts are popular choices for displaying parts of a whole, making them ideal for representing market share, expense breakdowns, or survey results. SAP Lumira, a powerful self-service data visualization tool, offers intuitive capabilities to create and customize pie and donut charts. This article guides you through best practices for creating these charts in SAP Lumira and highlights tips to maximize their effectiveness.
¶ Understanding Pie and Donut Charts
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Pie Chart: A circular chart divided into slices where each slice represents a proportion of the total. It is best suited for showing relative sizes of categories within a dataset.
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Donut Chart: Similar to a pie chart but with a hollow center. The hole in the middle can improve readability and can also be used to display additional information or labels.
Both chart types visually communicate proportional data at a glance, helping stakeholders understand distribution and composition quickly.
¶ When to Use Pie and Donut Charts
- To compare parts of a whole in a simple dataset.
- When the number of categories is limited (typically fewer than 6-8 slices).
- When precise values are less important than overall distribution patterns.
- To highlight dominant segments or outliers.
Avoid using pie or donut charts for datasets with too many categories or when comparing multiple data series, as this can overwhelm viewers and obscure insights.
¶ Creating Pie and Donut Charts in SAP Lumira
- Ensure your dataset includes a categorical dimension (e.g., product category, region) and a measure (e.g., sales amount, quantity) representing the values to be visualized.
- Clean and transform data as needed using SAP Lumira’s data preparation features to ensure accuracy.
- Open your dataset in SAP Lumira.
- Navigate to the Visualize tab.
- Select Pie Chart or Donut Chart from the list of available visualization types.
- Drag and drop the categorical dimension to the Category field.
- Drag the measure to the Value field.
- SAP Lumira will automatically calculate the proportion each category contributes to the total.
- Colors: Choose distinctive colors for slices to enhance differentiation.
- Labels: Enable data labels to display category names, percentages, or values on slices.
- Sorting: Sort slices in descending order to highlight the largest proportions.
- Legend: Add or adjust legends for clarity.
- Donut Hole: For donut charts, customize the size of the center hole if needed.
- Use tooltips to provide additional details on hover.
- Enable slice selection to filter other visualizations in your dashboard.
¶ Step 6: Review and Publish
- Preview your chart to ensure it communicates the intended message.
- Integrate the pie or donut chart into dashboards or stories for sharing with stakeholders.
¶ Best Practices for Effective Pie and Donut Charts
- Limit the Number of Slices: Keep slices under 6-8 for clarity.
- Group Minor Categories: Aggregate smaller categories into an “Others” slice to avoid clutter.
- Use Clear Labels: Display percentages or values for easier interpretation.
- Consistent Color Coding: Use a consistent color palette, especially if charts appear in multiple reports.
- Avoid 3D Effects: Stick to flat designs for better readability.
- Contextual Information: Provide titles and descriptions to clarify what the chart represents.
A retail company uses SAP Lumira to analyze sales distribution across product categories. A donut chart visualizes the percentage contribution of each category to total sales, with the center of the donut displaying the total revenue. Interactive features allow users to click on any category to filter detailed sales trends in other visualizations, enabling a holistic analysis of business performance.
Pie charts and donut charts in SAP Lumira are straightforward yet powerful tools for visualizing proportional data. When used appropriately and designed following best practices, they enable users to communicate data composition effectively and support informed decision-making. SAP Lumira’s user-friendly interface and customization options make it easy to create compelling visual stories that resonate with business audiences.