Have you ever reached a point where you need to find the slope of a chart? This is a scenario that many people have been in before. Some managed to find the slope after a long struggle, while others found it difficult and abandoned it. But have you ever heard of a slope chart? It sounds interesting, right? Let’s hang in there and explore what a slope is and help you understand all the necessary basics.

What is a Slope?

A slope refers to a measure of the steepness of a straight line when it’s plotted on a couple of coordinate axes. When writing an equation for the slope of a line, you will represent it by the letter “m.” When you write an equation, you will outline it as y = mx + b. The equation displays the amount that either increases or decreases the dependent value represented as “y” when the “x” increases by a single unit.

When you note a positive value on the slope, it means that the dependent value will also increase dramatically. If there is a negative value, then it refers to the decrease in the “y” variable. The “0” value outlined within the chart showcases a horizontal line detected by a small unit change within the “x” variable. The application of this hack cannot be neglected since data professionals are responsible for detecting slopes in the data they are processing to generate reputable conclusions.

After you have acquired some basic knowledge about a slope, you can channel your concentration on the how-about of a slope chart. Continue reading this article for more information!

What is a Slope Chart?

A slope chart is a special chart type used to compare the difference between two data instances or display data trends within a particular time frame. The two data instances may include different situations, such as two regions, the location of teams, continents, or seasons, depending on the nature of the data you are dealing with. The chart shows data transition within the shortest time possible and displays absolute values and even rankings.

The chart is mainly used before or after data storytelling since it depicts any changes that have occurred in your data. In addition, a slope chart enables you to visualize and analyze the rate of change within your sales process, costs, profits, and revenues, among other essential elements. The role of the slope chart is to help the business stakeholders identify the changes that have taken place within a certain duration.

After the slope chart is presented to the management panel, they can use it to make future decisions and work on the areas that need changes to ensure that the business can easily achieve its goals. Keep in mind that graphs are pretty easy to read and interpret since they do not involve technical elements. When you have technical data that outlines the slope of your lines, you can use the slope chart and present all your information to make it easily digestible.

How a Slope Chart Operates?

Slope charts were introduced in the market in 1983 by Edward Tufte in a book of visual displays of quantitative information. Initially, the chart was referred to as table graphics and was later changed to a slope graph. The main idea behind the graph was to develop a simple means of creating a simple diagram with an abundance of text that shows a series of activities in a manner that people can easily understand by just looking at it.

The chart has two parallel vertical axes that display the same type of categorical variables that come with the same units of detecting its measurements. Since there is no horizontal axis, the distance available between the vertical axis displays a time interval or an ordinal scale. On the chart, the numerical values are mainly indicated by points on all the vertical axes and are directly linked using a straight line.

The slope of the two lines is meant to reveal any changes occurring in the absolute or relative values over a certain time frame for every data category. Note that you can decide to code this information using lines that have different colors and thicknesses. This indicates that you can easily tweak your strategy to ensure that you come up with an engaging data output that you can use in making future development decisions that will impact your business success.

Once you have every aspect displayed in a visual data output, depicting the slope of the two lines becomes pretty easy since it’s only a matter of using your eyes. It does not have any form of technicality that you need to be worried about since you can draw conclusions out of the visuals in just a couple of minutes, and you have the entire job done.

How to Create a Slope Chart in Excel?

Finding the slope during data processing is difficult since the process is long and complicated. The good news is that you can make the process short by using a slope chart. The only thing that matters is to learn and master how to create a slope chart, and you are good to go. Microsoft Excel offers the simplest approach you can acquire and use to facilitate the creation of your slope chart.

Before you begin creating the chart, you need to start by ensuring that you have the right data that you have collected from accurate sources. If the data you intend to use is inaccurate, you are also likely to come up with a shoddy output that will affect the quality of your work and the results you will get at the end of the process. To be safer, recheck your data to ensure you are dealing with the right values.

• Open Microsoft Excel on your Computer and outline your data.
• You can outline the data manually or import it from your original source.
• On the top menu, click on “Insert.”
• Within the new menu that appears, click on the chart section and analyze the available chart types.
• Click on the slope chart and highlight the data you want to appear on the chart.
• Confirm if the data is accurate and click on the insert button.
• You will have a clear slope chart in Excel with all your data values outlined clearly and concisely.

Note that you can change the chart if the final output is not as impressive as you want it to be.

Conclusion:

A slope chart has made it easier for data professionals since they can easily evaluate the slope of their data without a lot of struggle. However, there are the basics that you need to learn before diving into the process to make your work easier and avoid wasting time. When dealing with data that you need to find out the slope to analyze its content, always prioritize the application of a slope chart that has fewer technicalities. The article has covered all the essential information you need to remember to make your dreams come true.