Patterns

Three to five headline measures in cards across the top of the page.

When to use

Executive and overview pages where the first question is 'how are we doing?'.

Composition

Cards or KPI visuals · Optional sparkline · One slicer for the period

Interaction contract

KPI row should react to every slicer and cross-filter on the page; it never filters others.

A line or combo chart of a measure over time with a comparison to target or prior period.

When to use

Whenever the follow-up question after a KPI is 'is it getting better?'.

Composition

Line/combo chart on Month · Target or prior-period series · Drill-down on the date hierarchy

Interaction contract

Drill-down Year → Quarter → Month; cross-highlights detail visuals.

Two or three segments compared side by side with the same measure.

When to use

Channel, region or category comparisons where ranking matters more than trend.

Composition

Bar chart sorted descending · Comparison selector slicer · Delta card

Interaction contract

Clicking a bar cross-filters the rest of the page to that segment.

One measure decomposed by a dimension — treemap, donut or stacked bar.

When to use

Composition questions: 'what is revenue made of?'.

Composition

Treemap or donut · Category slicer · Small multiples optional

Interaction contract

Cross-filter on click; pair with a Detail pattern for the next level.

A table or matrix of records behind an aggregate, often as a drillthrough page.

When to use

When users need to audit the rows behind a number.

Composition

Table/matrix · Drillthrough fields configured · Back button

Interaction contract

Reached via drillthrough from any summary visual; Back returns to the source page.

A focused view listing outliers — negative margins, missed targets, falling trends.

When to use

Operational pages where the user acts on what is wrong, not what is average.

Composition

Filtered table (top N by variance) · Conditional colour · Gauge or KPI for the threshold

Interaction contract

Visual-level filter carries the exception rule; slicers narrow the scope.