Power View Data Visualizations - SQL 2012 Reporting Services

Power View, a feature of SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services, allows you to create reports and dashboards using a number of different data visualizations. With the ability to drag and drop data, and being able to easily switch between visualizations, Power View quickly becomes a powerful BI tool to illustrate, summarize, display and analyze your data.

The following table is a list of data visualizations that come out of the box with Power View:

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TABLE You can easily drag and drop fields onto a table. Columns can be easily reordered and all columns are automatically sortable. You can even include images files.

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MATRIX Tables can be easily be converted into a matrix, with row and column groups. By default the matrix will have totals and subtotals for each of the groups. Additional columns can be easily added by dragging a field to a column group box.

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COLUMN CHARTS Easily display data in a vertical bar chart. Bar charts can have multiple series in a clustered column chart or can be stacked (example to the left).

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LINE CHARTS Line charts are a great way to show values over time. A great way to show trends. Line charts can show one series or multiple series.

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SCATTER CHART This type of chart is a great way to visualize data from two different measures. Size and position of the circles allow you to quickly analyze the data.

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ANIMATED SCATTER CHART This is one of the coolest features of Power View. You can add a timeline to a scatter chart and visualize data over time in an animated fashion, showing you a trend. When the play button is selected, the circles will move over time.

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SMALL MULTIPLES Small multiples give you the ability to repeat charts over a dimension, giving you the ability to see different values at the same times. You can have both vertical and horizontal multiples.

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CARDS You can easily convert any table into a series of cards. Similar to an index card, the data I laid out in a per item format. The great thing about cards, is that integrated into a dashboard, they can become very powerful.

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TILES Tiles are a data container that provide a way to make you data more interactive. As you create dashboards in Power View, the charts and graphs will be interactive. Tiles provide a way to give you a filtering navigation strip to interact with the data. As you select an element in a tile, all of the elements on the page will change accordingly.

As you start building reports and dashboards with the different data visualization components, keep in mind that they can all be interactive. As you select a tile, a series on a bar chart, etc. The other elements of the dashboard will filter down to that element. Here are some more examples of dashboards combining all of the previous elements.

One last cool note about all of these data visualizations and Power View; if you have Excel 2013, you can build Power View reports against your data in Excel without the need for SharePoint.

For more information about SQL 2012, Power View Reports, or Power Pivot, please do not hesitate to contact FMT Consultants, LLC.

Written By:
Jeff Fenn, Practice Manager
FMT Consultants

Posted by: Jakob Bechgaard