During Client Project #4, I attempted to create a Network graph to show the connections each entity points to. To set up the data set, one row should be the origin and the row following it should be the destination. Have one unique key to indicate a grouping between the 2 entities.
Now we make X and Y coordinates for each of the points, having all the origin and destination have their individual unique coordinates. This way, they can have multiple relationships while being marked on the same coordinates ( this will make sense later on )
However, What if you did not receive a dataset with a row representing either an origin or destination but just a row with the origin to its destination.
Here, we will be making unique Keys, We will write a formula pair A and B ( A → B ). We will call this the relationship column. This will be our flag to keep the Origin and Destination relevant to each other when pivoting
Now that we have a grouping key, we can pivot the origin and the destination into one column and assign the coordinates to them like what we did earlier.
For best practice, it is good to have both a unique ID and a relationship column. The unique ID can be used for connecting the points and the Relationship can be used for detailing the pathway we will make on tableau.
The Data Set will look like this.
Now that we have our data set up, we can now move on to Tableau to make the network graph.
The First Thing we do is add the 2 coordinates we made in the data prep into the column and rows. Have them set to a continuous dimension pill. Those will serve as our axis and it will create a grid.
Tableau has created those points for us. Now we just need to connect them. Drop the Unique ID into the details and change the Mark Into Lines.
We got our lines but our Circles disappeared. To make a circle, either duplicate your X Point Pill or Y Point Pill. Then Dual Axis the duplicated field, and change the mark to a circle.
Increase the size of the circle and add in Name Point and Origin/Destination Pill to your details. Remove your Unique ID from the details in the circle mark.
In the Line Marks, add the Relationship to Path to have the direction of the line in the tool tip.
We are now done with the basics of a network chart.
One issue with this is the inability to show if 2 entities have a 2 way connection, meaning Point A → Point B and Point B → to Point A. However that information does not get shown due to only information at the top gets displayed. The user would need to add a filter to see only either the origin or the destination. Or, make the lines between each point curve