A picture and field recipe for each main-chart choice, with the same absolute/relative band structure.
The common binding
Real renderers, explicit sample fields
These figures were captured from the unchanged current .pbiviz packages with documented sample data. They preserve the referenced chart families and variants. Your screenshots are included in Reference gallery. Full source data was not attached; example values are illustrative unless transcribed from a visible table. Field names and binding roles are explicit, and each example includes downloadable sample data.
Field well
Real field
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Each sample selects Forecast as its reference and keeps generated comparison totals Off. Main charts adapt to their geometry, but their scenario operands and variance bands remain consistent. The screenshots include blank Actual months with a valid Forecast.
Column main chart
IBCS Variance Overlapped Column
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type column
Main chart variant Overlapped Column
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
IBCS Variance Integrated Variance Column
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type column
Main chart variant Integrated Variance Column
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
Bar main chart
IBCS Variance Overlapped Bar
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type bar
Main chart variant Overlapped Bar
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
IBCS Variance Integrated Variance Bar
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type bar
Main chart variant Integrated Variance Bar
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
IBCS Variance Split Bar
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type bar
Main chart variant Split Bar
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
Line main chart
IBCS Variance Line
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type line
Main chart variant Line
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
IBCS Variance Integrated Variance Line
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type line
Main chart variant Integrated Variance Line
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
Area main chart
IBCS Variance Area
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type area
Main chart variant Area
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
IBCS Variance Integrated Variance Area
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type area
Main chart variant Integrated Variance Area
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
Waterfall main chart
IBCS Variance Waterfall
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type waterfall
Main chart variant Waterfall
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
IBCS Variance Waterfall + Column
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type waterfall
Main chart variant Waterfall + Column
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
IBCS Variance Side-by-side Waterfall
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type waterfall
Main chart variant Side-by-side Waterfall
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
Bullet main chart
IBCS Variance Bullet Column
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type bullet
Main chart variant Bullet Column
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
IBCS Variance Bullet Bar
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type bullet
Main chart variant Bullet Bar
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
IBCS Variance Conditional Bullet Column
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type bullet
Main chart variant Conditional Bullet Column
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
IBCS Variance Conditional Bullet Bar
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type bullet
Main chart variant Conditional Bullet Bar
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
IBCS Variance Comparative Bullet Column
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type bullet
Main chart variant Comparative Bullet Column
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
IBCS Variance Comparative Bullet Bar
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type bullet
Main chart variant Comparative Bullet Bar
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
IBCS Variance Qualitative Bullet Column
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type bullet
Main chart variant Qualitative Bullet Column
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
IBCS Variance Qualitative Bullet Bar
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type bullet
Main chart variant Qualitative Bullet Bar
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
IBCS Variance Multi-measure Bullet Bar
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type bullet
Main chart variant Multi-measure Bullet Bar
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
Box main chart
IBCS Variance Box Plot
Fields and settings
Field well
Real field / measure
Category / Hierarchy
Date[Month Name Short]
Actual
[Sales Actuals]
Previous year
[Sales LY]
Forecast
[Sales Forecast]
Business / IBCS → IBCS Variance → Main chart type box
Main chart variant Box Plot
Show comparison totals Off; Reference Forecast
Box plot has its own data requirements
The IBCS Box Plot example here summarizes the delivered monthly values. For record-level distribution analysis bind Observation ID and Actual, or precomputed Minimum/Q1/Median/Q3/Maximum as appropriate. It is not a sample-by-sample process-capability plot.
Native IBCS catalog orientation: overlapped columns, integrated horizontal bars and band collapse. Other catalog combinations remain documented in the article.
3840 × 2160 tutorial canvas at 20 fps. Real 2560 × 1392 Power BI Desktop screenshots retain their native size; this is a paced step sequence.
Read the aligned bands — Relative and absolute deviations align with the main scenario comparison. Read the named reference before interpreting favorable and unfavorable changes.
Choose the main chart family — Open Chart → IBCS and select Main chart type. Geometry changes while the bound categories and measures remain in place.
Choose a compatible variant — The integrated Bar variant embeds the deviation in the horizontal comparison. Review labels and available space after changing geometry.
Control information density — Collapse the variance bands when the main comparison needs more room. Expand again for the detailed changes.
