For IoT data, time series analysis is very common. Analyzing trends in IoT sensor values over time is useful for people in roles such as technical support, marketing, quality, and engineering. Time series charts communicate trend data more effectively than pareto charts or pie charts. Since you will be employing them quite a bit, it is important to make them as effective as you can. When creating charts, keep some things in mind to help make it easy for your audience to draw the conclusions that you intended.

In most cases, you have looked at the data in far more ways than you will be making available to your audience. You picked the charts that best convey what you have learned from your analysis of the data. Make it easy for your audience to grasp.

Here are some ways to help:

• Accentuate the key data: Make the key trend line in a chart bright and bold. In a table, bold the row you found to be the most important. Make it obvious. You are not insulting their intelligence, you are saving them time and minimizing misinterpretations.
• Label chart items clearly: Give the chart a clear title and make the font big enough to read easily. Make sure chart axes are labeled and avoid abbreviations.
• Point out key information: Circle an area on a chart you want to make sure the audience notices. Draw an arrow pointing to it and add text that states how they should interpret it. If there is a spike in average temperature in December due to record high regional temperatures, and not due to a system issue, circle it and add a note. It will save the audience from having to ask the question or investigate it themselves.