Businesses often set targets to measure progress toward their desired results, such as setting a minimum customer satisfaction level or a monthly sales quota. Goals are also commonplace in personal life, like aiming to save money or improving health measurements. Keeping track of how you’re doing compared to a target can provide positive reinforcement (when the results are good) or highlight where changes may be needed (when the results leave something to be desired).

There are many ways to visualize data with an eye toward emphasizing performance against a projected target. Common chart types like pairwise bars or time series data in a line chart could work. Other options may involve more novel approaches, like a bullet graph, a slopegraph, or even simple text.

For this month’s #SWDChallenge, we want you to show us what is making or missing the mark by graphing actual data against a projected goal or forecasted metric.

CHALLENGE

Find some data of interest that includes historical projections and actual performance, then visualize the information in whatever way you think would be the most effective. We encourage you to employ thoughtful use of color and words–including a takeaway title–to make it clear whether the desired goal was obtained.

If you need help finding a data source, check out this list of publicly available information for inspiration. Real-world work examples are also acceptable as long as you anonymize appropriately.

Share your creation in the SWD Community by May 31, 2023 at 5PM PT. If there is any specific feedback or input that you would find helpful, include that detail in your commentary. Take some time to browse others’ submissions, too, and share your input via comments and datapoints over the course of the month.

RELATED RESOURCES

A few suggestions for comparing actual data against a target are mentioned above, and below are some additional related resources. If you are aware of other good ones, please share them in your submission commentary.