Implementing IBCS guidelines in Energy BI

Introduction

When designing experiences with Energy BI or some other instrument, it’s important to comply with particular pointers.

IBCS offers a really useful ruleset for this function.

Nonetheless, whereas some guidelines could be simply applied utilizing Energy BI options, others can’t.

There are some customized visuals, reminiscent of Zebra BI, which have options to adjust to all IBCS guidelines when visualizing knowledge.

Some guidelines could be applied with the native characteristic set of Energy BI.

Nonetheless, when visualizing knowledge, the native characteristic set of Energy BI should be utilized in a specific option to adhere to the IBCS ruleset.

However first, let’s study the IBCS ruleset.

IBCS Guidelines

The IBCS guidelines consist of seven guidelines:

S (ay) What’s your message?

U (nify) Use a constant notation

C (ondense) Improve data density

C (heck) Ensure that the visualizations comply with a standard rule (integrity)

E (xpress) Don’t use fancy visuals — Use easy visuals

S (implify) Take away pointless stuff

S (tructure) Comply with a logical construction

In brief: SUCCESS.

I’ve already written an article on this matter. You may get it right here: https://medium.com/cloud-workers/three-simple-rules-for-information-design-52db54864b47

You may go to the IBCS webpage right here: https://www.ibcs.com/ibcs-standards-1-2/.

Sadly, it is a industrial entity, and it’s essential to pay to acquire the whole rule set, together with its accompanying documentation.

I’ll do my finest to information you on following the foundations with out requiring you to know the entire rule set.

Let’s dig into the completely different elements of the ruleset.

1. Content material of titles

The titles should describe the content material of a report.

Customers should be capable of perceive what they’re taking a look at by studying the title.

Due to this fact, the title(s) should comprise the next data:

• Subject
• Enterprise unit
  For which enterprise unit are the offered numbers?
• The unit and the scaling
  For instance, EUR, USD, Quantity of Items, and so forth., and if a scaling is utilized, as an example tEUR, if the numbers are for 1000’s of Euros (Divided by 1’000).
• The timeframe and the comparability state of affairs
  For instance, for the yr 2024 and PY or 2025 and FC (Forecast)

As we work with dynamic content material, which modifications by the consumer’s choice within the slicers, we should implement dynamic titles.

I recommend setting the primary title for the subject, the enterprise unit, the subtitle for the unit, the scaling, and the time-frame:

I omitted including the scaling to the subtitle, because the slicer to pick out it’s immediately beneath. This can be a widespread trick to keep away from too prolonged titles or subtitles.

As you’ll be able to see, I’ve added a light-weight gray background to the report. I exploit this to focus on the visuals and the slicers.

You may broaden the trick for lowering the title size by including slicers for the yr and month to the highest of the report. On this approach, the chosen interval is seen along with the web page title, and we are able to keep away from redundancy and complexity for the dynamic title:

1.1. Dynamic Titles

As described earlier than, it’s important that the customers can see what they’re taking a look at from the title or subtitle.

We should create dynamic titles with DAX expressions to show the consumer’s collection of the slicers within the title or subtitle.

I already wrote an article about this matter: https://medium.com/microsoft-power-bi/creating-dynamic-texts-based-on-hierarchies-in-power-bi-97ff6cf3517e

There, I described learn how to deal with completely different situations, together with creating dynamic titles from hierarchies.

2. Keep away from Redundancy

Typically talking, redundancy is a nasty thought.

Why duplicate what you have already got?

The one purpose is for safety or operational causes.
It’s a good suggestion to retailer knowledge in redundant storage. This ensures that if the info is broken in a single location, it stays accessible in one other.

However within the realm of reporting, redundancy stays a nasty thought.

Just a few concepts:

• If the report’s title is “Gross sales report”, why would you add “Gross sales over time” within the title of a visible on the identical web page?
• If a line or column chart reveals the months’ names on the X-axis, why add the sentence “over time” or “monthly” to the title?
• Why maintain the axis title seen if the content material is comprehensible with out it?
• For those who show gross sales per location, take away any redundant mentions of location, reminiscent of within the experiences and visible title.

These are only some examples of what could cause redundancy on a report web page.

My Tip: After finishing the design of a report, examine it for redundancy. Ask the report customers in the event that they perceive what you’re exhibiting on the report, after eradicating the redundancy.

Bear in mind: Customers are clever people who can work out what they’re taking a look at with out prolonged descriptions.

Let’s have a look at a nasty instance:

You may see that the “Gross sales” time period is repeated thrice

1. In the primary title
2. Within the visuals title
3. Within the title of the X axis

The identical applies to the nation label.

Once I take away all of the redundancies, it could actually seem like this:

Now you’ll be able to see what it seems like after eradicating the redundancies.

Be aware that I added “Quantity” to the visuals title to make sure that the buyer understands that it’s about cash. If essential, add the foreign money.

I’d add “Amount” if it have been concerning the amount of bought articles.

By the way in which, you may need observed that one thing is lacking from the report proven above. Have you ever seen what?

.

.

.

I didn’t embrace the title and subtitle as described within the first chapter.

This was due to time constraints. Sorry for that.

3. What’s the message?

A message ought to be on the middle of every report (web page).

What could possibly be a message?

• The distinction within the gross sales quantity versus the earlier yr
• Or versus the deliberate quantity, just like the forecast or some other planning quantity
• The conversion price of a area versus the identical measure over your entire firm

In the long run, it’s all about evaluating a price with a reference worth to offer which means to a quantity.

Considered one of my purchasers wished to check the speed of worker turnover by division with the identical price throughout your entire firm.

Every division supervisor was in a position to see if he fared higher or worse than your entire firm.

Energy BI presents two visuals to point out this:

• The KPI Visible
• The brand new card visible (in preview as of the time of writing)

Let’s see what we are able to do with the brand new card visible:

I highlighted the 2 reference and element values for the comparability with the earlier yr for the product group “Digital Cameras”.

When positioned on high of the web page, the buyer will instantly see how the 2 gross sales channels are performing, without having to view a line chart with too many particulars.

Typically that is sufficient data for the gross sales director or one other supervisor.

We will place detailed charts or tables beneath these two numbers. The buyer can resolve whether or not the knowledge on the chart is attention-grabbing or not.

Sadly, the Microsoft documentation is just not updated, regardless of this visible having been accessible for nearly two years now and remaining in Preview.

Watch this video for an intensive description of the brand new card:

And this one to see the most recent characteristic additions:

Nonetheless, you’ll be able to nonetheless use the traditional KPI visible for this function.

The purpose right here is to not present learn how to use this “new” card visible.

The important thing level now’s to prominently show the numbers that matter most to your viewers in a transparent and easy-to-read format.

Take into consideration the way you learn your information.

You begin with the headlines. If you’re within the particulars, you’ll proceed studying the complete article. If not, you go forward. This can be a regular human habits, and we should always take it into consideration when designing our experiences.

4. Coloring columns and bars

Final however not least, let’s discuss colours.

In line with IBCS, columns and bars ought to be coloured with the next guidelines:

• Darkish-grey for the present knowledge (Precise yr or interval)
• Gentle gray for the earlier yr or the earlier interval
• Diagonally hatched for forecast knowledge
• White with a black border for plan or price range knowledge

Different colours are used as follows:

• Black for textual content, axes, and features
• Inexperienced for a constructive deviation
• Blue-green for a constructive deviation supposed for visually impaired or color-blind customers
• Pink for unfavourable deviation
• Center-Gray for a impartial deviation (When the deviation is neither good nor unhealthy)
  I used this when the deviation is, let’s say, between -3 % and three %
• Blue for highlighting one thing

Whereas most of those guidelines make sense, some others don’t.

For instance, which shade can you utilize when evaluating two classes?

For instance: this, when evaluating the present knowledge from completely different continents:

This manner, whereas it conforms with IBCS, you can not distinguish between the three continents.

This may be one other approach:

That is higher, because it permits for a transparent distinction between the continents whereas avoiding utilizing overly shiny colours.

Now, have a look at the next image, which reveals the identical visible, however in grayscale:

Despite the fact that it’s more durable to learn, it’s nonetheless potential.

This is likely to be one thing that somebody who’s visually impaired sees.

When contemplating all members of your viewers, this is a vital take a look at to conduct to make sure that everybody can learn and perceive the info.

It is going to be more difficult when evaluating a number of classes.

One subject stays: Methods to show the hatched bars or columns?
As of at the moment, that is at present not potential in Energy BI, and I don’t have an answer for this. Discuss to your stakeholders to outline a viable resolution for this.

I’d use a gray tone to show forecast knowledge. It’s not normal, however it’s a approach to attract consideration to it.

However displaying price range knowledge in the suitable approach is feasible:

As you’ll be able to see, that is very straightforward to do.

One shopper makes use of darkish blue as the first firm shade. We used this shade as a substitute of black for the info of the present yr.

What’s unclear is learn how to deal with the colour when the consumer selects a earlier yr.

The information will now not show the present outcomes, however as a substitute these of the (chosen) earlier yr.

In all circumstances, we didn’t make a distinction between these circumstances.
The present yr is at all times the chosen yr.

This is smart, as IBCS doesn’t outline which shade the yr earlier than the earlier yr may have.

There may be another subject: The coloring guidelines lead to a comparatively boring look of the report. I encountered this a number of occasions when implementing these guidelines.

More often than not, we barely deviate from these guidelines whereas avoiding using too many colours. It’s a positive line between doing it in “the suitable approach” and going a step too far with the colours.

The primary factor is to outline a shade normal and stick with it. Be sure that colours are used equally for a similar situations and conditions.

Conclusion

IBSC is a really attention-grabbing ruleset.

It may well make life simpler, because it offers us a suggestion on learn how to design our experiences and guarantee good usability. However Energy BI doesn’t have all of the options required to implement the ruleset absolutely.

I omitted another particulars, which is able to make life even more durable.

There are IBCS-compliant customized visuals, that are extraordinarily useful as they supply a straightforward option to show deviations with out the necessity to create measures for them.

The 2 main suppliers are Zebra BI and xViz with their Inforiver Visuals.

There are different customized visuals, reminiscent of these from 3AG, which offer some protection of the usual.

If you wish to embark on the street to full IBCS compliance, you’ll be able to go to their web site to study extra about them.

My purpose right here was to exhibit what you’ll be able to obtain with Energy BI’s out-of-the-box options.

I hope that you just realized one thing.

References

The IBCS web site could be discovered right here: https://www.ibcs.com/

You may discover the Zebra BI Visuals right here: https://zebrabi.com/

Right here is the web site of xViz, with their product suite: https://inforiver.com/

Like in my earlier articles, I exploit the Contoso pattern dataset. You may obtain the ContosoRetailDW Dataset free of charge from Microsoft right here.

The Contoso knowledge could be freely used beneath the MIT License, as described on this doc. I modified the dataset to shift the info to up to date dates.