Comments on: XCelsius Dashboard: the population pyramid

By: Tornado Charts « Data-Ink.com

Tornado Charts « Data-Ink.com — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 19:11:51 +0000

[...] I've been working with the XY Bubble Chart with Lines add-in from Inovista and it is really amazing! It allows you to connect non-linear points and also to plot charts with transparent bubbles (BonaVista Systems Style). I have created a quick population pyramid / tornado chart using the add-in to address Jorge Cameo's blog posts on Xcelsius functionality from back in October 2007 (See blog post here). [...]

By: Stack Lee

Stack Lee — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:15:20 +0000

Here is a proper Xcelsius version of your pyramid chart:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2238/1799789629_d56e4c31e6_m.jpg

By: Janne Pyykkö

Janne Pyykkö — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 22:19:34 +0000

I have enjoyed reading your blog. It’s thorough, informative and fun. Thanks.

The two approaches to population pyramids (scatter plot in Excel and stacked bar in Xcelsius) made me response in my blog = still another approach how to create an age pyramid.

By: admin

admin — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 22:09:15 +0000

Jon, that’s exactly how I felt, handcuffed by lacking, wrong or misplaced options and pushed towards an oversimplification that ultimately would change all that I had in mind. And I just wanted a very basic chart…

Tony, this unfortunate duality eye-appeal vs. effective communication is something that I want to fight. A chart should be pleasant but not eye-catching, should communicate effectively without being minimalistically rational. How can we achieve that? Good question…

Pete, interactivity is a key issue (someone at Microsoft should read Jacques Bertin). Only a fairly advanced user can implement an interactive chart in Excel, and that doesn’t make sense.

By: Dashboard Pete

Dashboard Pete — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 20:01:09 +0000

The Xcelsius graphic immediately catches the eye, but I think it loses a little impact of the data where the lines are plotted.
However, I use CX to add interactivity to the graphics i.e. a button bar which allows the user to select different scenarios of data, or a slider which plots through a time scale.
Using an Xcelsius graphic on every slide I produce would be overkill, so all things in moderation ? I consider the interactive element of Xcelsius to be its strongest feature.

By: Tony

Tony — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:46:07 +0000

I agree with both of your (Jorge & Jon) observations about Xcelsius’ limitations and being handcuffed. Here’s my take on the two examples in this post. The Xcelsius has a bit more eye-appeal, but the Excel version is much more effective in communicating the results.

By: Jon Peltier

Jon Peltier — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 03:03:56 +0000

I did a few Xcelsius projects a couple of years ago. Xcelsius had some interesting possibilities, but I always felt handcuffed by the limits of Xcelsius charts. It was hard to customize axes and labels, and impossible to hide series in a chart (e.g., to create a floating colummn chart). We had to oversimplify many of our displays because of the mismatch in capabilities between Xcelsius and the Excel prototype.