ACTUAL VS PREVIOUS YEAR PLOT
The actual vs previous year chart shows this year vs previous year performance along different time spans.
PLOT LOGIC
The chart below compares the average weekly values of unit price, units and amount of the present year (AC) to the corresponding values average weekly values of the year before (PY).
From the left, the weekly average values are for the year, the most recent six months (compared to the corresponding six months of the previous year), the most recent quarter (compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year), and the most recent month (compared to the corresponding month of the previous year).
The red areas are "bad" while the green areas are "good". In this particular example higher amounts are "bad" because the example is about costs.
The increase in present year amount vs last year amount appears consistent throughout the year, with a peak in the most recent quarter, driven by a spike in price.
PLOT DETAIL
The plot is run at the total plotted data level for all metrics (in this case Price, Units and Amount)
...and for each dimension for a specific metric chosen by the user.
To choose the metric, open the expander below the "Plot type" widget and select the metric with the Y-axis metric widget
SAVING THE PLOT
To save the plot as a PNG file, hover the top right side on the chart. A menu will appear. Click on the camera icon.
OTHER OPTIONS
Open the expander under the 📊 Plot type drop down menu by clicking on the ➕ sign.
Four additional options are available for selection.
By default, the seven top items in terms of total Amount of the two periods are plotted, while the other items are aggregated together.
You can change the number of top items, and you can choose not to plot the value of the other aggregated items.
Values can be plotted in absolute value, as a % of total dataset, as a % of total dataset after filters, or as a % of the result row. The last two options only make sense if you plot a result row.
The plot can show the two periods one alongside the other,...
...or, if the "index vs a year ago" option is chosen, as the ratio of AC on PY.
ENABLE PLOT MESSAGE
It is possible to add messages to the chart, in the style suggested by the IBCS standard.
Enable messages by setting the "enable plot messages" widget to True.
You can find the "enable plot messages" checkbox in the Run widget expander.
Hit the Submit button.
A text box will appear above each chart.
Add your message, one chart at a time.
Once you have finished writing the message for a chart, click on the 🚀 Submit.
Your message will appear above the chart title
Now write another message on the text box of a different chart.
Click submit. Your second message appears above the second chart.
The downloaded image of the chart contains the message.
