A Sankey diagram is intended to show both progression and attrition through a process. The current Oracle Analytics Sankey visualisation does not accurately represent attrition because flows that terminate early are forced to continue to the final column of the diagram rather than ending where they actually leave the process.
This limitation prevents accurate visualisation of multi-stage processes where records can exit at different points in the journey. Flows that should logically terminate at an intermediate stage are instead extended to the far right of the diagram, reducing both the clarity and analytical value of the visualisation.
For example, in a sales funnel:
- Leads may be rejected before becoming Opportunities.
- Opportunities may be abandoned before becoming Qualified.
- Qualified opportunities may be lost before becoming Sold.
In the current Sankey chart, all of these terminated paths are displayed as though they continue through the full process, making it difficult to identify where losses occur and potentially creating a misleading representation of the underlying journey.
Requested Enhancement
Allow Sankey flows to terminate at their actual point of exit from the process.
Specifically:
- Support terminal nodes at any stage of the Sankey diagram.
- Allow flow paths to end at intermediate stages rather than requiring all flows to extend to the final column.
- Automatically position termination nodes according to the stage at which the flow ends.
- Continue to support successful paths progressing through to the final outcome.
Business Need
Sankey diagrams are commonly used to analyse:
- Sales and marketing funnels
- Customer journeys
- Recruitment pipelines
- Service delivery pathways
- Workflow progression
- Case management processes
A fundamental purpose of Sankey analysis in these scenarios is understanding both progression and attrition. Users need to identify:
- Where participants exit the process.
- The volume of loss at each stage.
- The most common reasons for termination.
- The proportion progressing successfully to the final outcome.
Without the ability to display termination points where they actually occur, organisations lose valuable insight into bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement.
Benefits
- More accurate representation of real-world process flows.
- Improved funnel and conversion analysis.
- Better visibility of attrition and drop-off points.
- Clearer communication of process performance to business users.
- Reduced need for custom visualisations or external BI tools.
- Increased value and flexibility of the native Oracle Analytics Sankey visualisation.
Example
The diagrams below illustrate the current and desired behaviour. In the current implementation, termination paths are forced to the final column regardless of where the flow ends. The proposed enhancement allows termination paths to end at the stage where records actually exit the process, providing a more accurate representation of both progression and attrition.
Current Behaviour
Desired Behaviour
