FIGURE A


Roadmap is a seven dimensional chart highlighting each project's progress. Roll over picture for a larger image.

The second chart, shown in Figure B, is called "Portfolio." This eight-dimensional chart needs to display the same six key project characteristics but this time set against a two-dimensional chart. This background chart has as its' y-axis the estimated five-year net income of the project and its' x-axis a value called the "franchise score." The franchise score has a range that the panel mentioned above determines for each project at each review.

FIGURE B


Portfolio is an eight-dimensional chart depicting estimated net income and franchise score. Roll over picture for a larger image.

The third chart, shown in Figure C, is called "Financial." It shows the same six dimensions but also each project's estimated net value for each year, each project's total net income over five years, and a summary, in graphical form, of each year's net income for the entire project portfolio.

FIGURE C


Financial is a chart focusing on financial aspects of each project. Roll over picture for a larger image.

The final chart, shown in Figure D, is called "Status." Again, showing the same six dimensions, now with a backdrop of each project's estimated or actual start date, the estimated and actual date of six review sessions, each project's status (Go, Issues, Hold), it's franchise score, and five-year estimate net income.

FIGURE D


Status is a table listing import dates for each project. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Development challenges
There were many challenges to overcome. After creating and storing information in a Project form, the question arises as to how you extract many variables from that document and precisely display that information on top of several graphics? How do you display that many variables on only four charts? How do you fit that information on one screen? How do you occupy the user while loading 30 dimensions of up to one hundred projects and loading all that information onto four charts?

More complications arose due to the roughly 40% of the user group that was running MS Windows 3.1 in 16-color mode. This severely limited my ability to use color to depict dimensions. Also, it impacted the amount of memory I could use to store JavaScript arrays and graphics.

For the Roadmap, how do you accurately reflect the correct phase by plotting the project in its actual phase? Once resolved the next question was how to keep the project names from overlapping? How do you allow for changes in the layout of the background graphic itself as you dynamically plot each project?

The Portfolio presented the most difficult problem: how do you display two or more projects that may overlap simply because they have similar or exactly the same X and Y values? Do you create an artificial third dimension? Do you have icons jumping out of the mouse's way when the user moves his mouse to that area? Basically, how do you explain to the user that there's more data there?

The Financial chart, although simpler, also posed some problems. For example, how can you avoid overwhelming the user with too much information? How do you create a simple bar chart with cascading style sheets?