waterfall-and-bridge-chartslisted

# Waterfall and Bridge Charts ## When to use Use this when the message is "how did we get from A to B." A waterfall, also called a bridge, decomposes a change into its drivers: opening value, a sequence of positive and negative moves, and the closing value. It is the standard chart for profit bridges, variance analysis, headcount changes, and price-volume-mix. ## What it does It returns a fully specified waterfall: the bar sequence, which bars are totals versus deltas, the floating-bar construction, color rule for increases and decreases, connector lines, and labeling. It makes the drivers of a change legible at a glance. ## Method Step 1. Define the start, the end, and the drivers. List the opening value, each driver that moves it (with sign and size), and the closing value. The drivers must sum from opening to closing exactly. If they do not, there is a missing bridge item; surface it as an explicit "other" or "unexplained" bar rather than hiding the gap. Step 2. Order the drivers deliberately. Order tells a story. Common orders are largest driver first, or a logical sequence (volume, then price, then mix, then cost). Group all increases then all decreases only if that aids the narrative. Keep the order stable if you show the same bridge across periods. Step 3. Construct the floating bars. A waterfall is built from a stacked column chart where an invisible base bar lifts each delta to its correct floating height. The opening and closing bars rest on the zero baseline.