As we explained in the General article on Chart reporting, there’s a couple of things that need to be decided on when setting up a bar chart.

In this article we explain how to set up a basic column chart, showing the development of the NPS over time. For easy reference we will use the Voice of Customer project from your trial portal as an example.

This article covers a step by step set up of this chart. We will divide these steps between the two tabs on which they are situated, the Look and feel tab and the Display points tab.

There are more switches and options to be found in the widget settings. To keep the structure, in this article we choose to highlight those options that are useful for the requirements stated above.

Table of contents:

Look and feel

Name & Description

This is where you enter the title of your graph. If there is any additional information you would like to share, you can add this in the description.

In this case we will name this graph “NPS over time” and we will further describe it as “The trend of the Net Promotor Score on the chosen period”

View Type

In the report widget slider you have already determined the orientation of your chart. The choice you made there (bar chart or column chart), will be marked as the default setting here. Still, if you change your mind, you can simply select a different option here.

In this case we want to create a chart with a sequence of columns, so we will choose “Column”.

Value Type

By setting the value type you determine how you want to measure your data. Do you want a calculation over the data available or do you want to gain insight in the distribution of a certain variable.

In this case we want to make a calculation (NPS), so we check the option “Datapoint Calculation”.

Project Selection

This is where we choose the project you want to report on – in what database is the information that we need for the graph located?

If you click the dropdown, you will be presented with all projects that are available for reporting in your portal.

In this case we want to calculate the NPS as gathered in the project “Voice of Customer”, so we select it from the dropdown.

Value axis - Datapoint type

This is where we tell the widget what calculation it needs to perform. When clicking the dropdown belonging to the value axis – datapoint type, you will be presented with all the calculation options that have been made available to you for reporting.

In this case we want to calculate the Net Promotor Score, so we choose the “NPS” calculation.

Please note: If you do not see a calculation you want to use in the dropdown, take a look at the calculations tab of your portal management settings, or contact an administrator to do this for you. More options might be available for you there.

Value axis - Datapoint variable & Display name

The datapoint variable of the value axis is where we tell the widget where exactly the data is located that the calculation needs to be performed on. We have already determined the relevant project, now we need to select the column, holding the specific NPS values we need for the calculation.

In this case we gathered this information through a questionnaire. The question page on which we posed the NPS question to the respondents was page 5 of the questionnaire and we named that question page NPS_KPI Question. The data is stored in the database in a column bearing the same name. Therefore the column we need for in this particular case is the column “NPS_KPI Question_page5_Text.

Please note: Some questions have two varieties. One ending in _Text and one ending in _Score. Make sure you select the correct column. If you want to report directly on the answers of the respondents, use the _Text column. If you used the “Score” tab in your questionnaire to assign alternative scores to answer options, you probably want to report on the “_Score” column.

The Display Name is a tool you can use as reference for yourself. A column name or variable that is created in the database, is not always pleasing to look at, or clear in a report. This is why CYS allows for creating a display name for reporting purposes.

In this case we want the column name/variable “page5_Text” to display in the graph as “NPS”, so this is how we renamed it.

Category axis - Type

By choosing the Category axis, we can assign the grounds for comparison. 

In this case we want our chart to display the NPS over a period of time so we need to select “period”.

Please note: the period that the chart will take as a basis for reporting is the same as you have selected in your smart period settings. If you want to change from a monthly development to a yearly development, you can do so by selecting a different smart period.

Number of period

By selecting “period” as your Category axis – Type, you will see a new option appear on your screen. This selection basically lets you determine the extent of the development. By selecting “Get From Dashboard Settings”, the number of periods that the development will run over, is equal to the # of periods for comparison as set up in your smart period settings. By selecting “Enter Manually”, you can bypass these settings and customize them for this particular chart. A new entry field will appear, labelled “Category axis – Periods” with which you can set an exact number of periods.

In this case the period settings as defined in the dashboard settings are sufficient, so we ill select “Get from Dashboard Settings”.

Ordering Categories

This setting allows you to order the values of your categories randomly or (reverse) alphabetize them.

In this case we are using “Periods” as a category. Periods are always chronological from left (old) to right (new), so we can ignore these settings and leave them on the default “Random” setting.

Filters

It is possible to set filters on your data to limit the range of data on which the chart needs to report. For instance, when you only wish to see the NPS development over time for a certain process.

In this case we want to see the overall NPS, so no filters are needed. We will be leaving them blank.

Save your data and your dashboard to fix your column chart in your dashboard. It should look simalar to this: