Custom Visuals in Power BI

Below is a list of custom visuals available in Power BI, along with examples of when and why you might use each:

1. Chiclet Slicer:

   • Why: Provides an aesthetically pleasing set of buttons for filtering data.
   • When to Use: When you want to offer users an intuitive way to filter data by categories or dimensions. For example, in a sales dashboard, you can use a chiclet slicer to allow users to filter sales data by product categories.

2. KPI Indicator:

   • Why: Visually represents key performance indicators (KPIs) with customizable indicators.
   • When to Use: When you need to highlight performance against specific targets or benchmarks. For instance, in a financial dashboard, you can use a KPI indicator to display metrics like revenue, profit, and expenses with red, yellow, and green indicators based on performance.

3. Hierarchy Slicer:

   • Why: Offers hierarchical filtering capabilities for exploring data hierarchies.
   • When to Use: When working with hierarchical data structures such as organizational charts or product categories. For example, in a retail dashboard, you can use a hierarchy slicer to enable users to drill down into product categories from high-level segments to specific products.

4. Bullet Chart:

   • Why: Efficiently compares performance against targets or benchmarks.
   • When to Use: When you need to monitor progress towards specific goals or targets across multiple categories. For instance, in a project management dashboard, you can use a bullet chart to visualize project completion percentages against predefined targets.

5. Gantt Chart by MAQ Software:

   • Why: Visualizes project timelines and schedules.
   • When to Use: When you need to track project tasks, milestones, and dependencies over time. For example, in a project management dashboard, you can use a Gantt chart to display project schedules, task durations, and dependencies.

6. Word Cloud:

   • Why: Represents text data where the size of each word corresponds to its frequency or importance.
   • When to Use: When you want to highlight key terms or concepts within textual data. For instance, in a sentiment analysis dashboard, you can use a word cloud to visualize frequently occurring words or phrases in customer feedback.

7. Hierarchy Chart:

   • Why: Visualizes hierarchical data structures using a tree-like layout.
   • When to Use: When you need to display parent-child relationships or drill down into hierarchical data structures. For example, in an organizational dashboard, you can use a hierarchy chart to visualize the organizational structure with departments, teams, and employees.

8. Network Navigator:

   • Why: Visualizes connections and relationships between entities in a network or graph format.
   • When to Use: When you need to analyze complex relationships or networks. For example, in a social network analysis dashboard, you can use a network navigator to visualize connections between users or groups.

These examples demonstrate how custom visuals can enhance your Power BI reports by providing specialized visualization options tailored to specific data analysis needs. Depending on your requirements, you can choose the appropriate custom visual to effectively communicate insights and facilitate data-driven decision-making.