Description

A waterfall chart shows how an initial value is affected by a series of intermediate positive or negative values. It is also known as a bridge chart, cascade chart, flying bricks chart, or Mario chart. Conventionally, intermediate values are showed as floating columns, while the initial and the final values are presented as floating columns.

When to Use

Waterfall chart is useful for understanding the gradual transition in the quantitative value of an entity which is subjected to increment or decrement. It can be used for various types of quantitative analysis, ranging from inventory analysis to performance analysis.

Dos

• Keep it simple
• Color code properly the floating columns for distinguish (green for positive values, red for negative values)
• Connect columns with dotted lines
• Label the values exactly

Don'ts

• Don’t use shadow effects
• Don’t use 3D effects

Tools available

Other chart types of comparison