A collection of [[Best Practices Index|best practices]] for creating [[Graphs, Charts, and Diagrams]] with maximal [[Communicative Value]]. # TL;DR > [!success] Do > - Be clear - use labels & legends > - Say only the right amount > - Adhere to conventions > [!fail] Don't > - Rely on conventions or implied semantics > - Make graphics too big or small > - Use vague symbols & arrows # Best Practices - **Title** - have one - **Description** - consider one - **Legend** - if the semantics aren't obvious, have a legend - **Labels** - all elements should be labeled - **Axes** - if diagrams use [[Positional Semantics]], are the axes clear, labeled, and using an appropriate amount of tick marks - **Complexity** - diagrams should not have more information than can be easily interpreted - If necessary, create a [[Hierarchy]] using [[Decomposition Understanding]] - Graphical elements need to justify their existence - don't include things that aren't worth including - remember [[More is Unnecessary, Less is Impossible.]] - **Line Crossing** - minimized, and when possible use a visual "jump" or "tunnel" scheme - **Exposition** - any comments or expositional elements are clearly understood as being annotative, not part of the information being mapped - **Conventions** - e.g. use cases are ovals, actors are stick figures - DO use them - Do NOT _rely_ on them to carry implied meaning - **Consistency** & coherence - If you're using a convention in one part of the diagram, stick with it all over - e.g. [[OPM]] uses the "ing" form of Process names - **Information Density** - no part of the diagram should be too crowded or sparse in terms of the information being conveyed by that part. The communicative value of each section of the diagram should be roughly equal. - **Information encoding** - if any of these are used and meant to carry meaning then they **should be included in the legend** - **Iconography** - if icons are used, are they helpful - **Color Scheme** - consider accessibility of colors, contrast matters and colorblindness is common - **Texturing** - consider text legibility ### Example Good Diagrams ![[IMG_6060 Medium.jpeg]] **** # More - [[Diagram Types (index)]] ## Source - [[Myself]] - Influenced heavily by the [[C4 Model]] - https://c4model.com/diagrams/checklist - Influenced also by [[IDEF0]] best practices - https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/FIPS/fipspub183.pdf - sections 3.3.3, 3.4.6