visualizing-change-over-time
Installation
SKILL.md
Visualizing change over time
When a request is about how something changed, the default reach is a line/area
trend — and that is usually right for a continuous series with many x points. But for
some change-over-time shapes a different chart reads far better. This skill is the
menu to offer, including the slope graph, when building visualizations with
@posthog/quill-charts.
Present the fitting option(s) and let the user choose — none of these is mandatory.
Pick by the shape of the change
| The change is… | Reach for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A continuous series over many time points (a trend) | TimeSeriesLineChart / LineChart (area fill for emphasis) |
The standard trend; the slope between every pair of points is visible. |
| Two points only (before → after) across several series/categories | SlopeChart |
One line per entity from a left "before" to a right "after" — direction and magnitude of each entity's change, and rank flips, read at a glance. |
| Magnitude comparison at points in time (not the path between them) | BarChart / TimeSeriesBarChart |
Bars compare discrete values; group/stack for sub-series. |
| A single headline number plus its change vs a prior period | MetricCard |
Big number + sparkline + change pill. |