Visualizing Many Metrics in a Matrix

[mjanecek]

Hi: In my current role, I get a lot of requests to put a high number of calculations into one matrix with multiple levels of row Heriarchy to drill into.

For example the below matrix already has 12 Dax calculations in the columns.  Now my product owner wants me to put 6 more calculations in the columns.  

I could put these calculations into bar charts and allow him visibility to them by cross filtering but the product owner always seems insistant upon needing to be able to drill into every detail of every calcuation within a matrix.  I'm just wondering how others may have or do handle this problem.

Mark Janecek

Business Intelligence Analyst

[Greg_Deckler]

@mjanecek So, you can turn on word wrap for your column headings and shrink some of them up in order  to squeeze in the extra columns. Can possibly reduce the font size as well for column headers and values. A matrix visual will also scroll if necessary from side-to-side. Maybe eliminate the spaces after the $ and before %. The problem is that if the user insists on it being in that format you just have to make it work as best you can.

Also, this video might be something that you are interested in as a way to potentially make things less maintenance intensive. I literally just released it today but it is essentially the exact scenario you are dealing with.

[mjanecek]

Hey Greg:  Thanks for the feedback.  I made an advanced tooltip with the 6 measures the user wants visibility to on 2 sepearate lines.  I also put the 6 measures in 2 stacked bar charts that cross filter based on the line that is selected, with the YOY change in the subtitles. 

We'll see what the user says to that.  If you have any other tips on managing the inclusion of double digit metrics in matrixes let me know.  The user never wants horizontal scroll bars on his matrixes.  Fun.