Compare and rank
Ribbon chart (rank changes)
Connects ranked category segments across periods to show changes in order and magnitude.
- Chart
- Ranking
- Trend over time
What it answers
How do rank and category size change together?
- Shape
- Ribbons between ranked segments
- What it shows
- Rank crossings and contribution changes.
Example
The question
How did each supplier’s rank by spend change across the year?
Spend by supplier and quarter, ranked within each quarter (EUR million)
Illustrative data. It belongs to no company.
When to use it
Use it when
Comparing rank turnover while retaining magnitude context.
Avoid it when
Dense categories or a need for precise pairwise reading.
How to read it
Follow each ribbon across periods and inspect segment order and size.
Note
Different from a statistical confidence ribbon.
The data you need
- Layout
- Long table
- Fields
- Period: ordered date/number; Item: text; Value or Rank: number
- One row is
- One item in one period. What is the grain?
- Rules
- If deriving ranks, state ascending/descending order and tie rules. Explicitly distinguish rank from magnitude.
- Optional
- Optional precomputed Rank. Fill missing periods only under a stated rule.
- Preparation
- Aggregate period-category values and rank segments within each period before connecting matching categories.
- Units
- Rank is ordinal; segment amount uses the measure's native unit. Keep rank and magnitude meanings distinct.
Worked example
Data Jan: A30, B45; Feb: A50, B40. Order segments by value each month. A becomes the leading category in February.
| Period | Item | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-01 | A | 30 |
| 2026-01 | B | 45 |
| 2026-02 | A | 50 |
| 2026-02 | B | 40 |