/documd-visuals

Bullet Chart — Target Attainment by Team (Vega-Lite)

Best for: a compact target-versus-actual view where the reader needs one benchmark line and one attainment bar per category Avoid when: the target is ambiguous, or the audience needs a full trend rather than a status-versus-threshold comparison Answers: how each team is performing against its goal, and which teams are under target

{
  "config": { "range": { "category": ["#2b66c4", "#2f9e44", "#f3a33c", "#d1242f", "#7048e8", "#0f9b9b", "#c16f8a", "#7c5a3d"] } },
  "$schema": "https://vega.github.io/schema/vega-lite/v6.json",
  "width": 420,
  "height": 220,
  "title": {"text": "Target Attainment by Team", "subtitle": "Actual throughput against the operating target", "anchor": "start"},
  "data": {
    "values": [
      {"team": "Core", "actual": 92, "target": 100},
      {"team": "Billing", "actual": 104, "target": 100},
      {"team": "Identity", "actual": 87, "target": 100},
      {"team": "Search", "actual": 111, "target": 100}
    ]
  },
  "layer": [
    {
      "mark": {"type": "bar", "cornerRadiusEnd": 3, "height": 18},
      "encoding": {
        "y": {"field": "team", "type": "nominal", "title": null},
        "x": {"field": "actual", "type": "quantitative", "title": "Throughput", "scale": {"domain": [0, 120]}},
        "color": {"value": "#2b66c4"}
      }
    },
    {
      "mark": {"type": "rule", "strokeWidth": 3, "color": "#f3a33c"},
      "encoding": {
        "y": {"field": "team", "type": "nominal"},
        "x": {"field": "target", "type": "quantitative"}
      }
    }
  ]
}

Data Shape

One row per category with actual and target values. The layered bar and rule marks turn each row into a bullet-like comparison.

Key Options

Pitfalls

• ❌ Using a bullet chart without a meaningful benchmark → ✅ the target is the point of the view
• ❌ Multiple unrelated benchmarks in one thin frame → ✅ once the viewer cannot decode the lines, use another chart
• ❌ Treating it like a trend chart → ✅ bullet charts answer status against target, not change over time

Alternatives