Page pattern

Comparison

Put two or more scopes side by side on identical measures, scales and time frames.

AnalysisIntermediateArchetype: Comparison
Typical user questions
  • How does this store compare to the benchmark?
  • Is this year better than last year?
  • Which department performs best on this measure?

Comparison — clickable example

Shared retail dataset. Every control works; the log shows what Power BI would change.

Simulation of native Power BI behaviour
Filter contextDepartment:All
Comparison selectorsfilters
DepartmentAll
KPI comparisonkpi
Revenue€8.4Mvs Budget€8.5M -1%Attention
vs Previous year€8.4Mvs Previous year€8.3M +1.4%On track
Margin€2.1Mvs Benchmark€2.1M -0.2%Attention
Trend comparisontrend
W1W2W3W4W5W6W7W8W9W10W11W12W13
Ranked comparisoncomparison
Level: department

Bars: Revenue · vertical marker: Budget

Comparison matrixdetail
Hierarchy: department › productGroup › productExpanded level 1 of 3
RowsRevenueBudgetvs Budget
€2.4M€2.5M-0.9%
€1.7M€1.7M-0.7%
€1.7M€1.7M-0.8%
€1.4M€1.4M-1.4%
€1.2M€1.2M-1.7%
Total€8.4M€8.5M-1.0%
What Power BI would do
  • Interact with a slicer, a bar or a navigation button to see the native behaviour described here.

Comparison — archetype wireframe

[ Filters ] [ Comparison KPIs ] [ Primary comparison ] [ Difference / variance ] [ Detail table ]

Simulation of native Power BI behaviour
Zone 1
Filters
Zone 2
Comparison KPIs
Zone 3
Primary comparison
Zone 4
Difference / variance
Zone 5
Detail table

Reading order follows the zones above, top-left to bottom-right.

Designer

Components: Bar/Column charts, Cards, Matrix, Small multiples where suitable

Hierarchy: Context/control → status/primary answer → explanation/breakdown → detail → next step.

Developer

Interaction: Use only interactions that support the page's next analytical step; typical next level: **Variance or entity detail**.

Navigation: Variance or entity detail

Implementation: Compose from the listed native visuals/controls and the standard interaction patterns in this guide; custom visuals are exceptions.

Common mistakes
Treating the archetype as a rigid screen; adding unrelated analytical tasks; duplicating controls already handled globally.
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