Compare and rank
Dumbbell chart / connected dot plot
Connects two values per category to show their difference.
- Plot
- Comparison
- Deviation
What it answers
How much did each item change between two measurements?
- Shape
- Paired dots joined by lines
- What it shows
- Size and direction of paired differences.
Example
The question
How much did delivery time improve in each region?
Average delivery time by region, 2024 and 2025 (days)
Illustrative data. It belongs to no company.
When to use it
Use it when
Before/after or actual/target comparisons with common units.
Avoid it when
When more than two conditions or an intermediate path is important.
How to read it
Read the two endpoint labels and compare connector length and direction.
The data you need
- Layout
- Wide paired table
- Fields
- Category: text; First: number; Second: number
- One row is
- One category with two comparable measurements. What is the grain?
- Rules
- Both values need the same unit or a documented transformation. Identify which value is first.
- Optional
- Long alternative: Category,Condition,Value.
- Preparation
- Validate the input grain and missing values. Both values need the same unit or a documented transformation. Identify which value is first.
- Units
- Use the measured variable's stated unit consistently. No denominator is implied unless the value is a rate or proportion.
Worked example
Data A:30 to 45; B:34 to 40. Connect paired dots. A increases by 15 and B by 6.
| Category | First | Second |
|---|---|---|
| A | 30 | 45 |
| B | 34 | 40 |