Visualization

The visualization module in Analytics lets you execute, view, and customize data and charts that show exploration results. Additionally, when you use Visualization Tiles in the Dashboard, some elements from the visualization module are included.

Analytics offers several chart types to help you visualize your data. You can use these charts in dashboards or explorations to present your data. To change the chart type, click Chart in the visualization window and select the chart type. Learn about Visibility controls.

Displays a single value derived from analysis. Analytics uses single value for top values, aggregated calculations, and analysis.

Displays data in tabular format.

Displays data in a two-dimensional format with an X and Y axis. Each point represents a single value, and the data points are connected by a line to illustrate a trend, typically over time.  

Displays data as horizontal bars, with the bar length indicating the magnitude of the value. The dimension is plotted along the horizontal axis, while Analytics plots the measure along the vertical axis.

The Bar Chart displays data as vertical bars, with the bar length indicating the magnitude of the value. The dimension is plotted along the horizontal axis, while Analytics plots the measure along the vertical axis. See also Visibility controls.

Using a bar chart layout, the Bar Funnel Chart displays data across multiple stages of the process.

The Funnel Chart displays data across multiple stages of a process.

The Pie Chart displays data in a circle segmented into sectors, each representing a proportion of the data.

The Bubble Chart displays data points using bubbles, incorporating an additional data dimension represented by the size of the bubbles.

The Sankey Chart illustrates the flow from one set of values to another. Displaying users' paths through various touchpoints with a product, such as screens, actions, and more. The Sankey Chart is useful for identifying frequent user journeys.

The Breakdown Chart displays retention by time dimensions (time since focal time and time itself). This capability is present only for the Retained measure type. You can also segment by cohorts and attributes in the breakdown chart.

The Pivot Chart displays table data in a multi-dimensional view.

The Table Totals/Subtotals feature in Optimizely Analytics enhances data analysis within pivot tables by providing comprehensive aggregation options for columns. This feature supports the following aggregation functions, making it adaptable to various analytical needs:

Calculate the total of a given column within a pivot table. The Column Total is computed for the entire column, regardless of pagination, and displayed at the bottom of the page.

View subtotals for grouped columns based on specific attributes. Column Subtotals are automatically generated when columns are grouped, leveraging the existing grouping functionality in pivot tables.

You can show or hide specific measures or attributes from your visualizations without modifying the underlying query. This gives you flexibility in viewing and presenting data, which is especially useful in crowded charts.

In experiment scorecards, you can toggle and save visibility settings for decision-making and guardrail metrics. Special pivot attributes used in scorecards also surface, letting you have more control over what is displayed in performance comparisons over time.

You can customize and edit your chart through the chart settings section. Click More (⋮) > Edit visualization in the dashboard tiles and exploration templates.

Mark a chart with a labeled note on a specific date to record an event, such as a marketing send, a product launch, or a pricing change. Annotations help you correlate events with changes in your data. Each annotation records the author and uses the correct time zone for the date.

To add an annotation:

The chart shows a marker on the selected date, connected by a leader line to the data point. To edit or remove an annotation, click the marker and select to appropriate option.

When you add the visualization to a dashboard, annotations carry over to the dashboard tile, which shows the annotation count.

The Data tab has information about the X and Y axes and lets you select and customize the data you want to display on the chart axis. Click + corresponding to the respective axes to add an axis configuration. You can add attributes and tooltips by clicking +. For pie charts, tables, or sankey charts, the Primary and Secondary tabs replace the X-Axis and Y-Axis tabs.

Use the Sorting section to sort your visualization results. 

Use the Show sorting option on the graph to display sorting on the chart. The arrows next to each column let you sort the data. You can also use the Limit option to restrict the data displayed.

Toggle the automatic refreshing of the chart's data. To activate it, use the toggle and set the time interval in the Refresh rate field. If left empty, automatic refresh is not enabled.

You can configure the following options:

Compare a measure against a prior period to see how performance changed. Use the Compare to control to set the comparison period, such as Previous year or Previous period. Compare to works on both time series charts and Single value charts.

Over time

On a time series chart, such as a Line chart, compare the current period with a previous period to see how a metric changed over time. Over time comparison works in funnel, event segmentation, and retention explorations.

To compare over time:

The chart adds a dotted line that shows the same analysis for the comparison period. Switch the result between a numeric change and a percentage change.

For the comparison measures available in each exploration type, see Period-over-period comparison in explorations.

Single value

On a Single value chart (click Chart > Single Value), Compare to shows the change from the prior period in two forms:

A directional indicator colors the result. Green marks a positive change, and red marks a negative change. For example, a value trends 21.5% higher than the same point in the prior year, with the absolute increase shown next to it.

Configure how the comparison displays in the Style tab:

When you add the visualization to a dashboard, the comparison carries over to the dashboard tile. The visualization header orders the controls as time grain, compare, and time range, which groups the comparison with the time controls.

You can configure the following fields:

You can configure the following fields:

Targets

Set a goal value on a measure to track progress toward it. Configure targets per measure, so each Y-axis measure supports its own target. Single value, Line, and Bar charts support targets.

In the Targets group, configure the following settings:

How the target displays depends on the chart type:

Display data values when you hover over data points. Use + to select data columns to display their values in the tooltip.

Inspect query

You can examine and customize the underlying exploration query using NetScript, SQL, and Warehouse SQL dialects. To do this, click More (⋮) > Inspect Query. You can also open the query in the explorer to modify it.

To customize the query, click Open as Explore. You are directed to the following relevant explorer by Analytics:

You can add the current exploration to a dashboard. This feature is available in exploration templates and simplifies adding charts to dashboards.

Click Refresh to refresh the chart. Hover over Refresh to see when Analytics last computed the query.