Report Solution Patterns and Recipes - Professional SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services - page 297

Creating Sparklines
Edward Tufte, one of the most recognized experts on the subject of data visualization, presents the idea
of sparklines. These are simple, word-sized graphics that are an alternative to large, busy charts used to
communicate a simple trend or series of measurements. In order to be meaningful, sometimes charts
need to have annotated gridlines, point labels, and legends. However, some charts can effectively serve
their purpose without the use of supporting text labels. To illustrate observations like “sales are improv-
ing,” “a product is profitable,” or that a trend is cyclical, a simple trend chart needs little or no labeling.
Sparklines are best used when embedded in text or other report formats.

What you'll need:

❑ A query expression used to return trend data.

❑ A small, simplified chart item.

❑ A table item to display master rows.

Column and line charts are best suited for this type of presentation. In the first of two examples, I'll use a
column chart to show sports games scores for a team throughout the season. The first example uses data I
had on hand from a project. The second example will use sample data from the AdventureWorks database.

Team Standings
The purpose of the chart, shown in Figure 7-31, is to quantify the team's relative position and win/loss
trend rather than to show specific scores. For this I use a no-frills column chart. The data set returns a
team name, game number, and score for each team. The column value will represent the number of
points that won or lost the game. For example, a team that wins with a score of 5 to 3 would have a win-
ning score of 2. If the team loses 3 to 4, their score would be -1.

Figure 7-31

Figure 7-32 shows the category group. This plots columns along the X-axis, one for each game.