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Bar charts

A bar chart report starts from raw per-entity bars and can then optionally group and aggregate them. For example:

  • Application count by capability.
  • Total application cost by capability.
  • Average risk score by owner.
  • Count of applications by lifecycle stage.

Choose the base entity set, usually a numeric or time period y-axis field, then use the grouping section to keep raw bars ungrouped or visually cluster them while optionally changing the x-axis label field from its default name. If you only want grouped entity count, the y-axis can stay empty. Use bar charts when you need comparison, prioritization, or a simple executive summary. If the shape of the architecture matters more than a total or ranking, use landscape reports.

Custom bar chart definition panel in the editor

Built-in templates​

Built-in templates can also open directly into a ready-made report. For example, reports/application-cost-per-capability starts with applications grouped by related capabilities and then sums yearly application cost inside each capability group.

Application cost per capability report showing capability cost bars

Building a bar chart​

The editor now follows this flow:

  1. Choose the base entity type.
  2. Choose the numeric or time period y-axis field, or leave it empty if you only want grouped entity count.
  3. Review the Grouping section. It defaults to No grouping, and the x-axis field defaults to name.
  4. Optionally switch grouping to a metadata field or a relation path. Metadata grouping only needs the selected grouping field; relation-path and ungrouped charts still let you choose the x-axis field separately.
  5. Optionally enable Aggregate to collapse each visual group into one bar.

Without aggregation, the chart keeps one raw bar per x-axis item and only visualizes the grouping. With aggregation enabled, each group collapses into one bar using entity count, count distinct, sum, or average. You can also hide unmapped entities if you do not want an explicit Unmapped bar or group in the result.

When a bar chart groups by related entities instead of plain metadata, it uses the same relation-path, direction, and hop-count rules described in Reports overview.

The bar-chart-specific difference is grouping: one base entity can contribute to multiple visual groups if it reaches multiple terminal entities through the configured path. This is useful when, for example, one application supports more than one capability.

If you then enable aggregation, that same entity still contributes its full value to every related group it reaches. Bar charts do not use the Auto nest children option that landscape and roadmap reports support. Relation-path grouping in bar charts always follows the explicitly configured layers and hop count only.

Timeline sliders​

Timeline sliders filter the base entity set based on date fields. This is useful for showing what is active today, what appears in a future roadmap, or what disappears after a retirement date.

Saving bar charts​

Save a bar chart when it answers a recurring question. Shared reports should have clear names and stable filters so teammates can trust them.