Sunburst Charts: Hierarchy and Effort in One View

A Sunburst is a multi-layered radial chart that shows hierarchical data in one view. It starts with a central category and expands outward into phases and tasks, with slice size representing metrics such as time, cost, or sales.

Unlike pie charts or treemaps, which flatten structure or overwhelm with detail, Sunbursts combine breadth and depth. This makes them effective for executives who need to see overall structure and proportional weight in a single frame.

Use Case: Project Timelines
We visualized three project categories – Marketing Campaigns, Software Upgrade, and Retail Setup.

• The center displayed the project categories.

• The next ring broke down phases.

• The outer ring showed tasks, with slice size reflecting duration in hours.

Why This Visual Works

• Clarity on time investment: Wider arcs highlight where the most hours are spent (e.g., Integration in Software or Store Setup in Retail).

• Context with hierarchy: Relationships between category → phase → task remain intact.

• Single narrative: Replaces multiple pie charts with one integrated view.

• Accessibility: No filters or drilldowns are needed; insights are visible at once.

• Prioritization: Tasks and phases are sorted in descending order, surfacing the most time-intensive elements.