Bridge / waterfall

Walk a number from start to end so the biggest hole is obvious.

consulting-exhibit

Related: KPI / metric row

When to use

Use when a gap between two totals must be explained. Do not use for a time series (use annotated-chart). Do not use decorative 3D cylinders.

Guidelines

Start, steps, end. Down steps vs up steps use status tokens. Title names the largest hole.

Example

Same-day fill

Dwell, not scan quality, is the 12-point hole in same-day fill.

93% start
−12 dwell
−4 mis-slot
+4 scan
81% now

Bridge from theoretical fill to trailing fill

Start 93% to 81%; dwell is the hole. Steal labeled steps, not a 3D waterfall.

Rules

  1. Start and end totals are on the board.
  2. Each bar is a named driver with a signed delta.
  3. Title names the largest driver.
  4. Do not truncate the implicit axis to fake drama.

User recipe

Goal: explain a gap.

Inputs: start value, end value, drivers with signs.

Constraints: Bridge / waterfall Rules.

Prompt skeleton: “Make a bridge/waterfall slide in family consulting-exhibit using the Bridge / waterfall rules. Start: [n]. End: [n]. Drivers: [signed list].”

Anti-patterns