Advanced Charts
Report Forge includes specialist chart types for project control analytics beyond the standard bar, line, and area charts. These advanced types are accessed through the same Insert → Chart workflow as standard charts — the chart type picker includes all standard and advanced types in a single list.
Waterfall chart
A waterfall chart shows a running total as bars rise and fall from a starting value, making it ideal for variance analysis, budget bridge views, and cash flow change narratives.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Start value | The baseline or opening balance shown as the first bar. |
| Step field | The field defining each incremental step (e.g., cost element, change category). |
| Value field | The numeric increment or decrement at each step. |
| Subtotal positions | Specify which steps should render as a subtotal bar anchored at zero rather than a floating increment. |
| End bar | An optional closing balance bar at the end. |
| Positive color / Negative color | Custom colors for upward (positive) and downward (negative) bars. |
| Others grouping | Auto-group steps below a threshold contribution into an "Others" bar. |
Presets: Budget to Actual, Cash Flow Bridge, EV Variance, Cost Breakdown, Change Log
Scatter chart
The scatter chart plots two numeric values per data point to reveal correlations, clusters, and outliers.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| X axis field | Numeric field for the horizontal axis. |
| Y axis field | Numeric field for the vertical axis. |
| Series field | Optional field to colour-code points by category. |
| Label field | Field shown as a point label (e.g., Activity ID). |
| Trend line | Linear regression or polynomial curve overlay. |
| Reference lines | Horizontal and vertical reference lines to create quadrant regions. |
| Density rendering | For large point sets (> 500 points), enable opacity-based density rendering to visualise concentration. |
Common uses: Duration vs. float, planned vs. actual cost per activity, resource cost vs. loading.
For a bubble chart (adding a size dimension), see Scatter-Bubble.
Treemap
A treemap displays hierarchical data as nested rectangles, with each rectangle's area proportional to a numeric value. Used for showing relative size across categories such as resource cost by discipline or activity count by WBS.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Category field | Field defining the rectangles. |
| Value field | Determines the size of each rectangle. |
| Drill field | Optional second level for drill-down interaction. |
| Color field | Optional field for conditional coloring (RAG, category). |
| Label format | Show category name, value, percentage, or all three inside each rectangle. |
Presets: Resource Cost Distribution, WBS Activity Count, Discipline by Status
Funnel chart
The funnel chart shows a staged process where volume decreases at each stage. Use for review completion rates, milestone progression, and approval pipelines.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Stage field | Field defining each funnel stage (e.g., Submitted, Under Review, Approved). |
| Value field | Count or sum at each stage. |
| Mode | Stepped (rectangular bars), Smooth (tapered funnel), Inverted Triangle, or Pyramid. |
| Proportional heights | If enabled, each segment's height is proportional to its value; otherwise all segments are equal height. |
| Conversion metrics | Show the percentage retained from the previous stage on each band. |
Decomposition tree
The decomposition tree breaks down a top-level metric by successive dimensions to identify drivers of a result. Useful for variance analysis by phase, discipline, contractor, or work area.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Root metric | The top-level value being decomposed. |
| Decomposition fields | Ordered list of fields to decompose by at each level. |
| Max depth | How many levels to expand by default. |
| Contribution bars | Mini bars on each node showing its share of the parent. |
| Mode | Manual (user selects which branch to expand) or Auto (automatically expands the path with the highest value). |
| Saved paths | Named saved expansion paths that can be loaded by the report consumer. |
Milestone trend analysis (MTA)
The MTA chart plots the forecast completion dates for named milestones across successive reporting periods to visualise schedule drift.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Milestone field | Field identifying each milestone (ID or name). |
| Period field | The reporting period dimension (x-axis). |
| Forecast date field | The forecast completion date for each milestone in each period. |
| Baseline date field | Optional fixed baseline date shown as a horizontal reference line. |
| Schedule drift indicator | Highlight milestones where the forecast date has moved by more than a configurable threshold. |
Presets: Key Milestones Only, Full Programme Milestones, Milestone by Discipline
Resource profile
The resource profile shows loading or allocation as a histogram or area chart, optionally compared to a baseline period or capacity limit.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Period field | Time axis. |
| Resource value field | Hours, units, cost, or allocation percentage. |
| Group by | Split by resource type, role, discipline, or contractor. |
| Baseline field | Optional baseline loading for comparison. |
| Capacity line | Optional horizontal reference at maximum capacity. |
| Overload highlighting | Shade periods where loading exceeds capacity in a warning color. |
For the full dedicated component, see Resource Usage Profile.
Adding an advanced chart
- Open the blueprint in the Output Designer.
- Select Insert → Chart.
- Choose the chart type from the type picker (scroll to the Advanced section).
- Configure the data binding in the Properties panel.
- Select a preset from the Presets dropdown to apply a recommended configuration, then customise as needed.
Related
- Chart Component — standard bar, line, area, pie charts
- Combo Chart — combined bar and line
- Waterfall — dedicated waterfall component
- Milestone Trend Analysis — dedicated MTA component