Field notes · 4 August 2026
Chart conventions that keep monthly packs consistent
A short convention sheet your analysts can follow so subscriber and usage packs look related month after month.
Inconsistent colour, axis ranges, and titles make month-to-month comparison exhausting. A one-page convention sheet fixes more meeting friction than another new chart type.
Lock colour meanings: one hue for subscriber counts, another for traffic volume, a third for alerts. Do not recycle alert colours for decorative accents. Fix baseline axis policies so a quiet month does not look dramatic simply because the scale auto-shrunk.
Title charts with the question answered, then the period. “Prepaid density by district — July 2026” beats “Chart 4.” Footnote the extract timestamp on every page.
Review the convention sheet quarterly. When a new product line appears, update the sheet before analysts invent ad-hoc styles under deadline pressure.