Visuals and Report Design

💡 Key concepts

• Visual choice:

  Question	Visual
  Are we on cost/schedule?	KPI cards with RAG, bullet/gauge (sparingly)
  How is it trending?	Line (S-curve), combo column + line
  Where is the variance?	Bar sorted by variance, waterfall (plan → actual drivers)
  What's late?	Table/matrix with conditional formatting
  Schedule view	Gantt-style (matrix + conditional formatting, or a certified custom visual if allowed)
  Risk	5×5 heatmap via matrix + background color measure

• Interactivity: Cross-filtering, edit interactions, drill-through (portfolio → program detail page), report-page tooltips, bookmarks + buttons (toggle views), field parameters (let users swap metric: CPI/SPI/CV).
• Design system: Theme JSON (agency palette), grid alignment, consistent titles, a "last refreshed" timestamp, data-as-of date shown on every page.
• Accessibility: Alt text, tab order, don't use color as the only signal (add ▲▼ or text labels for RAG), sufficient contrast.
• Custom visuals: Check your organization's policy. Many government tenants only allow certified or org-approved visuals.

🛠 Hands-on exercise: Program Detail Page

Data: full model and measure library.

1. Portfolio Overview page: KPI cards (CPI Cum, SPI Cum, Obligation Rate FYTD, Late Milestones), a matrix of programs with RAG formatting, and a bar of EAC Gap by program.
2. Program Detail page (drill-through on ProgramID): S-curve (BCWS/BCWP/ACWP Cum + BAC line), a milestone table (baseline vs. forecast, slip, status icons), a risk heatmap, and contract info cards.
3. A tooltip page that shows a mini S-curve when hovering over a program.
4. A field parameter to switch the bar chart between CV, SV, and EAC Gap.
5. Add a dynamic title: "Program Detail: " & SELECTEDVALUE(dim_Program[ProgramName]).

📦 Mini-project: Leadership-Ready Report v1

Three pages (Overview, Program Detail, Execution/Budget). Apply a custom theme JSON, add a "Data as of" card driven by MAX(fact_EVM[PeriodEnd]), alt text on every visual, and a "How to use this report" info button (bookmark overlay). Ask a colleague to try it for 5 minutes and write down where they get confused.