A waterfall chart is a form of

data visualization Data and information visualization (data viz/vis or info viz/vis) is the practice of designing and creating Graphics, graphic or visual Representation (arts), representations of a large amount of complex quantitative and qualitative data and i ...

that helps in understanding the cumulative effect of sequentially introduced positive or negative values. These intermediate values can either be time based or category based. The waterfall

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

is also known as a flying bricks chart or Mario chart (after the floating bricks in Nintendo's "

Super Mario (also known as and is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. At least one ''Super Mario'' game has been released for every ma ...

" games) due to the apparent suspension of columns (bricks) in mid-air. Often in

finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

, it will be referred to as a bridge. Waterfall charts were popularized by the strategic consulting firm

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company (informally McKinsey or McK) is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinse ...

in its presentations to clients. Complexity can be added to waterfall charts with multiple total columns and values that cross the axis. Increments and decrements that are sufficiently extreme can cause the cumulative total to fall above and below the axis at various points. Intermediate subtotals, depicted with whole columns, can be added to the graph between floating columns.

Overview

The waterfall is known as a bridge or cascade; the chart portrays how an initial value is affected by a series of intermediate positive or negative values. Also, it is similar to bar graph.

Applications

A waterfall chart can be used for analytical purposes, especially for understanding or explaining the gradual transition in the quantitative value of an entity that is subjected to increment or decrement. Often, a waterfall or cascade chart is used to show changes in revenue or profit between two time periods. Waterfall charts can be used for various types of quantitative analysis, ranging from

inventory analysis Inventory analysis is one of the branches of Operation Research which deals in studying and understanding the stock/ product mix combined with the knowledge of the demand for stock/ product. It is the technique to determine the optimum level of inv ...

to performance analysis.{{Cite web , date=2020-07-24 , title=Waterfall Chart , url=https://think.design/services/data-visualization-data-design/waterfall-chart/ , access-date=2023-09-28 , website=Think Design , language=en-US Waterfall charts are also commonly used in

financial analysis Financial analysis (also known as financial statement analysis, accounting analysis, or analysis of finance) refers to an assessment of the viability, stability, and profitability of a business, sub-business, project or investment. It is per ...

to display how a net value is arrived at through gains and losses over time or between actual and budgeted amounts. Changes in cash flows or income statement line items can also be shown via a waterfall chart. Other non-business applications include tracking demographic and legal activity changes over time. There are several sources for automatic creations of Waterfall Charts ( PlusX,

Origin Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics and manga * ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002 * ''The Origin'' (Buffy comic), a 1999 ''Buffy the Vampire Sl ...

, etc.)

References

Charts Visualization (graphics) Management theory