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How to Create a Quadrant Chart
A step by step walkthrough for turning a list of items and two scores into a published quadrant chart in PlotSet, from shaping the sheet to labelling the boxes and exporting the result.
About 8 minutesFour labelled boxes, built from your own items and your own two scores, not the sample impact and effort numbers PlotSet loads by default: that's the end point for how to create a quadrant chart from your own spreadsheet. You will shape the sheet, map the columns, set the dividing lines on purpose, and publish a chart where hovering a point shows exactly what it is.
If your sheet already lists one item per row with two numbers next to it, this takes about eight minutes. Add another ten if you are still deciding where the dividing lines should sit or cleaning up a source report that has extra columns you do not need. The eight minutes below assumes the scores are already settled.
The data you need
One row per item: a label, then two numeric measures (x, then y). An optional fourth column carries a group name if you want the points coloured.
Keep the label column as plain text. A feature name that looks like a date or a formula result to your spreadsheet tool will upload as that value, not the text you see on screen.
Both measures need to be numbers on their own scales. They do not have to start at zero and they do not have to share a scale with each other, since the two axes are read independently.
Add a group column only if you want point colour to mean something, such as a team or a category. Skip it if every point should read the same way.
One row per item. If the same feature appears twice with different scores, PlotSet plots both dots, which usually means a duplicate export rather than two real items.
The steps
The exact click path in PlotSet, from a blank template to a finished chart.
- 01
Pick the Quadrant Chart template
From the PlotSet dashboard, start a new project and choose the Quadrant Chart template. It loads with sample impact and effort scores already bound to the axes and the four quadrant labels, so you can see exactly how the columns map before you touch your own file.
Every guide starts here. Pick the category, then the template: it is the same grid whichever chart type you are after. - 02
Shape your sheet into label, x and y
Put the item name in the first column, then its two numeric scores in the next two columns, one row per item. Strip out any subtotal or notes column your source report added; the upload should be items and numbers only.
- 03
Upload your file or connect a sheet
Use the data panel to import a CSV or .xlsx file, paste rows straight from a spreadsheet, or connect a Google Sheet if you want the chart to pick up new scores later without a re-upload.
The data view, shown here on a bar chart project. Upload a CSV, lift the numbers out of an image with Magic Import, or sync a Google Sheet. The panel is identical for every chart type. - 04
Map the label and the two measure columns
Confirm which column feeds the point label, which feeds the horizontal axis, and which feeds the vertical one. PlotSet usually gets this right when your headers are clear, but check it manually if your sheet carries extra columns it might have guessed wrong on.
Bindings decide which column becomes the label, which supplies the values and which drives the colour. Auto Binding guesses them from your headers, so check it rather than assume it. - 05
Set the dividing lines on purpose
Open the line controls and type in the actual threshold, a budget figure, a target score, whatever the boundary really is. If nothing like that exists, switch to the median option instead of eyeballing a line by dragging it.
- 06
Name each quadrant
Click into each of the four labels and replace the placeholder text with the action it represents: do first, plan, maybe later, drop. Keep each one short enough to sit inside the shaded box without crowding a nearby point.
- 07
Turn on point labels and colour by group
Switch on direct labels so every dot carries its item name without a separate legend. If your sheet included a group column, map it to point colour now; if not, leave every point the same colour so it does not imply a grouping you did not intend.
The Preview tab for a Quadrant Chart. Every styling control lives in the outlined panel, each on its own tab: appearance, header, footer and the options specific to this chart type. - 08
Publish the chart, or export it for a slide
Publish for a live, interactive chart with hover tooltips and a shareable link, grab the embed code to drop it into a page, or export a PNG, SVG or PDF for a slide.
Start from the Quadrant Chart template with sample data already loaded, then swap in your own.
Open the templatePublish, embed or export it
The last stretch is the same for every chart type: Share turns the chart into a live public link and an embed code, Export writes it out as a static file.
Share: public link and embed code
Activating the embed code and public link publishes the chart. The link is safe to send to anyone, and the embed code drops into any page as an iframe that keeps the hover tooltips and the interactivity. Edit the chart later and hit Recreate to push those changes out to both.
Export: SVG, PNG or JPG
Export writes a static copy at whatever size you need. SVG stays sharp at any scale and can still be edited in a design tool; PNG and JPG are the safe choices for slides and documents. The scale multiplier is what gets you a crisp image on a retina screen.
Styling tips for a Quadrant Chart
Type the threshold into the line label, do not eyeball it
PlotSet's line control takes a numeric value and prints it next to the line. Enter the real figure there instead of dragging the line until it looks about right, so anyone reading the chart can see what the boundary actually is.
Turn on direct labels before you second-guess the dots
A quadrant chart with unlabelled points forces the reader to hover every dot to know what they are looking at. Switch on labels early in the process so you are judging the real chart, not a cloud of anonymous circles.
Colour by group, size by a third number
If your sheet has a category column, map it to colour. If you also have a third number worth showing, such as budget or headcount, map that to point size instead of adding a second colour scheme on top.
Match each quadrant's shading to its label's tone
PlotSet lets you tint each of the four background regions separately. Keep the tint faint and consistent with the label, a soft green behind "do first" reads faster than four identically grey boxes with text doing all the work.
Common mistakes when making a Quadrant Chart
Every point lands in the same quadrant
This usually means the dividing lines are still sitting at the default zero crossing instead of the median or your real threshold. Open the line controls and switch to the median option, which recentres both lines on your actual data.
The quadrant labels sit outside their boxes
This happens when a label is too long for the region at the current chart size. Shorten the label to two or three words, or widen the chart; PlotSet does not wrap quadrant label text automatically.
Points are missing after mapping the columns
Check the two measure columns for text values PlotSet cannot plot, a stray "N/A" or a unit typed into a number cell is the usual cause. Fix the cell in your source sheet and re-upload rather than editing it in PlotSet's data table.
Learn more about the Quadrant Chart
Not sure the Quadrant Chart is the right choice? See what it is, when to use it and when not to.
Quadrant Chart: common questions
One row per item with a label and two numeric scores, plus an optional group column for colour. Both scores need their own numeric scale; PlotSet cannot plot a text category on either axis of a quadrant chart.
Make your Quadrant Chart now
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