In-Cell Charting for Visual Analytics

What women want and other analytical questions

Last night my wife showed me a spreadsheet where she's been recording her weight for the last 9 years (she herself admits to being a bit OCD). I saw a perfect application for CALUMO In-Cell Charting to present this data in an intensely meaningful way using a sparkline.  She was so impressed when I showed her the chart and for once my need for analytics, proof & logic satisfied her need to be understood.

My Analysis

Within a few seconds of building the chart, I was able to make the following observations:

• Other than on 4 occasions, she has stayed within + or - 10% of her 9 year average weight (her normal range).
• You can easily spot her 2 pregnancies at the 2 chart peaks, but I note she consumed more chocolate thickshakes during her first pregnancy, thus explaining her max of 90kg (at the red dot) just before the birth of our first child.
• She experienced more dramatic weight loss after her first pregnancy than after the second pregnancy. The faster weight loss was assisted by weight loss tablets, which took her to her min of 63kg (at the green dot), but the low was short lived when she stopped taking weight loss tablets.
• I proudly note a healthier and more sustainable approach during & after her second pregnancy (fewer thickshakes, no weight loss tablets and plenty of exercise).
• In the early years, prior to her first pregnancy, there are a few volatile up & down swings. These reflect those volatile and decadent years before children.

So why did I use an in-cell chart?

Well, for one thing the chart above is effectively representing more than 3,000 data points (9 x 365). CALUMO In-Cell Charting provides an intelligent visual presentation of large amounts of meaningful data for identifying trends, comparing data and highlighting exceptions. Secondly, the chart display with the min/max, normal and closing looks deceptively simple – its actually not for the novice to achieve in standard spreadsheet packages. By combining charts and data together in a table, we easily achieve this and do away with the need to separately label axes and legends, or the need to associate the table data with the chart information.

CALUMO In-Cell Charting (AKA Sparklines) provides Line, Axis, Bar, Bullet, Grid, Strip & Arrow charts. Imagine the application of this where a single page transforms and concentrates large amounts of corporate data into KPI's on a single page for rapid and effective review and analysis.