Rules to Better Interfaces (Reports, Charts and Dates)

Graphs are a great way to display data in an easy to follow visual format. Some graphs, however, are easier to read than others. We recommend staying away from 3-D Graphs and keeping it simple! If you have complex data, it's also a good idea to display 2 or 3 simpler graphs rather than one complex one - the aim of the game is to make digesting the information as simple as possible for your audience.

> Line graph > Line graphs are used to track changes over short and long periods of time. When smaller changes exist, line graphs are better to use than bar graphs. Line graphs can also be used to compare changes over the same period of time for more than one group. > > Pie Chart > Pie charts are best to use when you are trying to compare parts of a whole. They do not show changes over time. > > Bar Graph > Bar graphs are used to compare things between different groups or to track changes over time. However, when trying to measure change over time, bar graphs are best when the changes are larger. > https://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/help/user_guide/graph/whentouse.asp

This is a fancy way of saying use the right graph for the right purpose. Pie graphs fulfill a specific requirement, unlike a bar graph which is more multi-purpose.

Date formats should always be kept consistent across applications. More importantly, they should be kept consistent with the operating system's regional settings, otherwise this will cause significant confusion for users.

Time formats should be consistent across your application, to give the application a very professional and consistent look.

In Outlook, the Calendar control has a number of important features:

• Saturday and Sunday are displayed at the end
• Days that have data associated with them are bold
• The current day is highlighted with a box

In OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) cubes, dimensions are ways to categorize data. For example, in a sales cube, you might have dimensions for Time, Products, and Geography. Each dimension can have a hierarchy, and the top level is often represented as "All," which aggregates the data across all members of that dimension.