# Charting Skills for Business Leaders

> **Audience**: Business Executives · Project Managers · Entrepreneurs  
> **Purpose**: Master the 16 most impactful charts to communicate strategy, track performance, and drive decisions.

---

## Why Charts Matter in Business

Charts are the language of leadership. A well-chosen chart can:
- Compress weeks of analysis into a 10-second insight
- Build stakeholder alignment without lengthy explanations
- Surface patterns invisible in raw data tables
- Make complex decisions auditable and defensible

The charts below are ranked by **strategic breadth** — how many business scenarios each type serves across planning, execution, and communication.

---

## Default Plotting Contract

When asked to plot, generate, or design a chart, create a slide-ready diagram by default:

- **Canvas**: use a 16:9 draw.io page, preferably `1600x900` (`pageWidth="1600"` and `pageHeight="900"`). Keep content inside a safe area of about `70,70,1460,800`.
- **Primary output**: include a `## draw.io XML` section with paste-ready XML for draw.io / diagrams.net. Do not only describe the diagram.
- **Style**: use executive presentation styling: white background, thin light-grey borders, dark text, restrained pastel section fills, and one accent color for active/important process elements.
- **UML flows**: when the content is a process, system interaction, knowledge workflow, actor-to-system exchange, API sequence, or handoff between roles/tools, prefer a UML sequence-flow diagram over a generic flowchart.
- **Sequence-flow visual language**: use participant header boxes across the top with 24pt bold entity names, warm dashed vertical lifelines, teal activation bars, solid arrows for calls/writes, dashed arrows for returns/confirmations, and pastel loop/phase bands on the left.
- **Readability**: number messages in order, keep labels short, align related messages on shared rows, and leave enough horizontal spacing for long arrows.
- **Branding**: if the user provides a brand, place a small logo/text mark in the upper-left corner without letting it dominate the diagram.

For the house UML sequence-flow style, use [charting-skill-sequential-flow.drawio](style/charting-skill-sequential-flow.drawio) as the canonical editable style reference, [sequential-diagram-example.png](style/sequential-diagram-example.png) as the screenshot reference, and [uml_sequence_flow.md](example/uml_sequence_flow.md) as the paste-ready XML example.

---

## The Top 16 Charts

| # | Chart | Primary Power | Best For |
|---|-------|--------------|---------|
| 1 | [Gantt Chart](#1-gantt-chart) | Timeline visibility | Project managers, PMO |
| 2 | [Waterfall Chart](#2-waterfall-chart) | Change decomposition | CFOs, financial analysts |
| 3 | [Balanced Scorecard Map](#3-balanced-scorecard-map) | Strategy alignment | CEOs, strategy leads |
| 4 | [BCG Growth-Share Matrix](#4-bcg-growth-share-matrix) | Portfolio prioritization | Entrepreneurs, VCs |
| 5 | [Fishbone / Ishikawa Diagram](#5-fishbone--ishikawa-diagram) | Root cause analysis | Ops managers, QA leads |
| 6 | [SWOT Diagram](#6-swot-diagram) | Situation analysis | All business leaders |
| 7 | [Funnel Chart](#7-funnel-chart) | Conversion tracking | Sales, marketing, growth |
| 8 | [Burndown Chart](#8-burndown-chart) | Sprint/project health | Agile PMs, tech leads |
| 9 | [Stakeholder Map](#9-stakeholder-map) | Influence & alignment | Change managers, PMs |
| 10 | [Value Stream Map](#10-value-stream-map) | Waste elimination | Lean/operations leaders |
| 11 | [Heat Map](#11-heat-map) | Priority density | Risk officers, strategists |
| 12 | [Business Model Canvas](#12-business-model-canvas) | Venture architecture | Entrepreneurs, founders |
| 13 | [RACI Chart](#13-raci-chart) | Accountability clarity | Project managers, HR |
| 14 | [OKR Tree / Goal Cascade](#14-okr-tree--goal-cascade) | Objective alignment | CEO, department heads |
| 15 | [Decision Tree](#15-decision-tree) | Scenario planning | All strategic leaders |
| 16 | [UML Sequence Flow](#16-uml-sequence-flow) | Interaction clarity | Architects, PMs, ops leads |

---

## 1. Gantt Chart

**What it is**: A horizontal bar chart showing tasks across a timeline with dependencies.

### When to Use
- Kicking off a project: map milestones, tasks, and owners across weeks/months
- Mid-project check-ins: visualize slippage and reschedule dependencies
- Stakeholder reporting: give executives a one-page project timeline view
- Resource planning: spot overloads by seeing who owns what, when

### Scenarios
| Scenario | How to Apply |
|----------|-------------|
| Product launch | Map all launch tracks (marketing, dev, legal, ops) in one view |
| ERP implementation | Show phase gates: design → build → UAT → go-live |
| Quarterly planning | Break OKRs into deliverables with dates |
| Vendor management | Track external dependencies alongside internal tasks |

### Key Elements
- **Task bars** on a time axis
- **Milestones** (diamonds) for critical deadlines
- **Dependencies** (arrows) between tasks
- **Percent complete** shading for progress

### Common Pitfalls
- Too granular (100+ tasks) → use summary-level Gantt for leaders
- No buffer time between dependent tasks
- Not updating weekly → stale charts erode trust

→ **Example**: [gantt_chart.md](example/gantt_chart.md)

---

## 2. Waterfall Chart

**What it is**: A bridge chart showing how individual positive/negative values cumulatively add up to a total.

### When to Use
- Monthly/quarterly P&L reviews: show revenue → COGS → gross profit → EBITDA
- Budget variance analysis: starting budget → actual spend → ending balance
- Headcount planning: starting HC → hires → attrition → ending HC
- Project cost walk: baseline → change orders → final cost

### Scenarios
| Scenario | How to Apply |
|----------|-------------|
| Board financial review | Walk from revenue to net income, showing each cost bucket |
| Sales performance | Starting pipeline → new leads → closed → lost → ending pipeline |
| Startup runway | Cash balance walk: funding → burn → milestones → runway end |
| Market share | Start share → gained from competitors → lost → end share |

### Key Elements
- **Floating bars** for intermediate values (neither starting from zero)
- **Color coding**: green = increases, red = decreases, grey = totals
- **Connector lines** between bars for readability

### Common Pitfalls
- Mixing categories (cost types with revenue) confuses the narrative
- Not labeling the delta on each bar
- Using standard bar chart instead of true waterfall → loses the "bridge" story

→ **Example**: [waterfall_chart.md](example/waterfall_chart.md)

---

## 3. Balanced Scorecard Map

**What it is**: A strategic framework linking objectives across four perspectives: Financial, Customer, Internal Processes, and Learning & Growth.

### When to Use
- Annual strategy setting: translate vision into measurable objectives
- Executive alignment: ensure all departments pull toward the same goals
- KPI cascading: link high-level strategy to team-level metrics
- Board reporting: show strategy execution health holistically

### Scenarios
| Scenario | How to Apply |
|----------|-------------|
| Corporate strategy review | Show 3–5 objectives per quadrant with owners and target KPIs |
| Department alignment | Map each team's OKRs to the corporate scorecard |
| Investor presentation | Demonstrate you manage the business beyond just financials |
| Turnaround plan | Identify which quadrant is the root constraint (e.g., internal processes) |

### Key Elements
- **Four quadrants**: Financial → Customer → Internal Process → Learning & Growth
- **Cause-effect arrows** linking objectives across perspectives
- **KPI, target, and owner** per objective node

### Common Pitfalls
- Too many objectives (>5 per quadrant) dilutes focus
- Missing cause-effect linkages → becomes a KPI list, not a strategy map
- Not reviewing quarterly → becomes a wall decoration

→ **Example**: [balanced_scorecard.md](example/balanced_scorecard.md)

---

## 4. BCG Growth-Share Matrix

**What it is**: A 2×2 matrix plotting business units or products by market growth rate (Y) vs. relative market share (X).

### When to Use
- Portfolio review: decide where to invest, harvest, or divest
- Product strategy: categorize products as Stars, Cash Cows, Question Marks, or Dogs
- Resource allocation: direct R&D and capex to the right bets
- M&A target screening: identify acquisition targets that complement your portfolio

### Scenarios
| Scenario | How to Apply |
|----------|-------------|
| Multi-product company | Plot all product lines; allocate budget toward Stars |
| Startup portfolio | VC mapping investments: which need more runway vs. which to double down |
| Annual strategy offsite | Facilitate leadership debate on which "Question Marks" to accelerate |
| Competitive analysis | Plot competitors' products to find market gaps |

### Quadrant Guide
| Quadrant | Label | Action |
|----------|-------|--------|
| High growth, High share | ⭐ Star | Invest aggressively |
| Low growth, High share | 🐄 Cash Cow | Harvest & fund Stars |
| High growth, Low share | ❓ Question Mark | Decide: invest or kill |
| Low growth, Low share | 🐕 Dog | Divest or maintain minimally |

### Common Pitfalls
- Using revenue share instead of **relative** market share
- Ignoring synergies between units
- Treating it as static — run it annually

→ **Example**: [bcg_matrix.md](example/bcg_matrix.md)

---

## 5. Fishbone / Ishikawa Diagram

**What it is**: A cause-and-effect diagram shaped like a fish skeleton, grouping root causes by category.

### When to Use
- Post-mortem / incident review: find why a project failed or a bug escaped
- Quality improvement: analyze defects in a product or process
- Strategic problem framing: understand why a KPI is underperforming
- Pre-mortem: anticipate failure modes before a launch

### Scenarios
| Scenario | How to Apply |
|----------|-------------|
| Customer churn spike | Categories: Product, Support, Pricing, Onboarding, Competition |
| Failed product launch | Categories: Marketing, Sales readiness, Tech, Operations, Timing |
| Manufacturing defect | Classic 6M: Man, Machine, Method, Material, Measurement, Mother Nature |
| Revenue miss | Categories: Pipeline, Win rate, Pricing, Retention, Expansion |

### Key Elements
- **Head (effect)**: the problem statement
- **Spine**: main horizontal arrow
- **Bones**: category branches (usually 4–8)
- **Sub-bones**: specific contributing causes

### Common Pitfalls
- Stopping at symptoms, not root causes (ask "Why?" 3–5 times per branch)
- Too many bones → use affinity clustering first
- Not validating causes with data

→ **Example**: [fishbone_diagram.md](example/fishbone_diagram.md)

---

## 6. SWOT Diagram

**What it is**: A 2×2 matrix capturing internal Strengths & Weaknesses vs. external Opportunities & Threats.

### When to Use
- Strategic planning sessions: baseline situational awareness
- New market entry: assess readiness vs. market conditions
- Competitive response: evaluate your position before a competitor move
- Investor pitches: demonstrate self-awareness and strategic clarity

### Scenarios
| Scenario | How to Apply |
|----------|-------------|
| Annual strategy offsite | Ground the team before setting objectives |
| New product launch | Is the timing right given market threats? |
| Partnership evaluation | Do partner strengths offset your weaknesses? |
| Pivot decision | Are external opportunities strong enough to overcome internal weaknesses? |

### Extension: TOWS Analysis
Convert SWOT into action by crossing quadrants:
- **S + O** → Maxi-Maxi: leverage strengths to capture opportunities
- **W + O** → Mini-Maxi: fix weaknesses to access opportunities
- **S + T** → Maxi-Mini: use strengths to neutralize threats
- **W + T** → Mini-Mini: reduce weaknesses to avoid threats

### Common Pitfalls
- Generic statements ("good team", "competition") — be specific
- No prioritization within each quadrant
- Not translating to action (TOWS extension solves this)

→ **Example**: [swot_diagram.md](example/swot_diagram.md)

---

## 7. Funnel Chart

**What it is**: A tapering shape showing volume at each stage of a sequential process.

### When to Use
- Sales pipeline management: Leads → MQL → SQL → Proposal → Close
- Marketing conversion: Impressions → Clicks → Sign-ups → Activation → Retention
- Hiring funnel: Applicants → Screened → Interview → Offer → Accepted
- User onboarding: Registered → Profile complete → First action → Power user

### Scenarios
| Scenario | How to Apply |
|----------|-------------|
| Sales QBR | Show where deals are leaking; focus coaching on biggest drop-off |
| Growth review | Compare funnel week-over-week to detect conversion regressions |
| Product analytics | Where do users drop off in the onboarding flow? |
| Investor reporting | Demonstrate CAC efficiency and conversion benchmarks |

### Key Metrics to Show
- **Volume** at each stage
- **Conversion rate** between stages (the critical insight)
- **Benchmark** vs. prior period or industry standard

### Common Pitfalls
- Not showing conversion % between stages — the bar heights alone are misleading
- Too many stages (>7) — consolidate
- Mixing B2B and B2C funnels with different definitions

→ **Example**: [funnel_chart.md](example/funnel_chart.md)

---

## 8. Burndown Chart

**What it is**: A line chart tracking remaining work (Y-axis) against time (X-axis), compared to an ideal burndown line.

### When to Use
- Agile sprints: daily tracking of story points remaining
- Project delivery: track remaining features/tasks vs. a deadline
- Release planning: will we make the ship date at current velocity?
- Budget burn: actual spend vs. planned spend over a project timeline

### Scenarios
| Scenario | How to Apply |
|----------|-------------|
| Sprint planning | Set baseline ideal line; track daily actuals |
| Program increment | 8-week PI burndown for SAFe or scaled agile programs |
| Product launch countdown | Features remaining vs. launch date |
| Cost control | Budget remaining vs. project timeline |

### Key Elements
- **Ideal line**: straight line from total work to zero at deadline
- **Actual line**: daily/weekly actual remaining work
- **Scope change markers**: annotate when new work was added

### Reading the Chart
- Actual **above** ideal → behind schedule
- Actual **below** ideal → ahead of schedule or scope was removed
- **Flat actual line** → team is blocked or not logging progress

→ **Example**: [burndown_chart.md](example/burndown_chart.md)

---

## 9. Stakeholder Map

**What it is**: A 2×2 matrix plotting stakeholders by **Power** (Y) vs. **Interest** (X) to drive engagement strategy.

### When to Use
- Project initiation: identify who needs to be managed vs. informed
- Change management: plan communications for organizational changes
- Product launches: align internal sponsors and manage resistant stakeholders
- Political navigation: understand the power landscape before critical decisions

### Scenarios
| Scenario | How to Apply |
|----------|-------------|
| ERP rollout | Plot IT, Finance, Operations, Legal, and C-suite — who will block? |
| M&A integration | Map acquiree leadership to design the integration comm plan |
| Regulatory approval | Identify high-power, low-interest regulators — keep them satisfied |
| New product launch | Engage high-interest champions as advocates |

### Quadrant Engagement Strategy
| Quadrant | Label | Strategy |
|----------|-------|----------|
| High power, High interest | Key Players | Manage closely — involve in decisions |
| High power, Low interest | Keep Satisfied | Regular status; don't overwhelm |
| Low power, High interest | Keep Informed | Newsletters, open forums |
| Low power, Low interest | Monitor | Minimal effort; watch for changes |

### Common Pitfalls
- Treating the map as static — stakeholder positions shift
- Forgetting informal influencers (low power but high credibility)
- Confusing "interest" with "support" — opposed stakeholders are high-interest too

→ **Example**: [stakeholder_map.md](example/stakeholder_map.md)

---

## 10. Value Stream Map

**What it is**: A lean process diagram showing every step in a value chain, with time, inventory, and information flows.

### When to Use
- Process improvement: identify where time and money are wasted
- Lean transformation: visualize current vs. future state
- Digital transformation: map manual steps that should be automated
- Operations benchmarking: compare your process time to best-in-class

### Scenarios
| Scenario | How to Apply |
|----------|-------------|
| Order-to-cash optimization | Map every step from customer order to cash received |
| Software delivery pipeline | Code commit → review → test → deploy → monitor |
| Customer onboarding | Application → verification → approval → activation |
| Supply chain audit | Supplier → warehouse → production → distribution → customer |

### Key Elements
- **Process boxes**: each step with cycle time and uptime
- **Push/pull arrows**: show how work flows between steps
- **Inventory triangles**: queues between steps
- **Timeline bar**: value-added time vs. total lead time

### Key Insight
The gap between **value-added time** and **total lead time** is your improvement opportunity. In most processes, value-added time is < 5% of total lead time.

→ **Example**: [value_stream_map.md](example/value_stream_map.md)

---

## 11. Heat Map

**What it is**: A grid where cell color intensity represents the magnitude of a value — typically used for risk or priority scoring.

### When to Use
- Risk management: plot risks by likelihood × impact
- Product roadmap prioritization: effort × value scoring of features
- Sales territory analysis: performance by region × product line
- Resource utilization: team workload by person × week

### Scenarios
| Scenario | How to Apply |
|----------|-------------|
| Enterprise risk register | 5×5 grid: Likelihood (1–5) × Impact (1–5) → color code risks |
| Feature backlog | Value vs. effort matrix; top-right = quick wins |
| Customer segmentation | Revenue × growth potential by segment |
| Cyber security audit | Threat likelihood × business damage |

### Color Conventions
| Color | Meaning |
|-------|---------|
| 🔴 Red | Critical / Act now |
| 🟠 Orange | High / Plan mitigation |
| 🟡 Yellow | Medium / Monitor |
| 🟢 Green | Low / Accept |

### Common Pitfalls
- Subjective scoring without calibration → use a scoring rubric
- Too many items on one heat map → segment into domains
- Not dating the map → stale risk maps are dangerous

→ **Example**: [heat_map.md](example/heat_map.md)

---

## 12. Business Model Canvas

**What it is**: A one-page strategic template with 9 building blocks describing how a business creates, delivers, and captures value.

### When to Use
- Startup ideation: stress-test the business model before building
- Pivot planning: visualize what changes when the model shifts
- Investor pitch preparation: communicate the full business model concisely
- Competitive analysis: map a competitor's model to find gaps to exploit

### Scenarios
| Scenario | How to Apply |
|----------|-------------|
| Pre-seed pitch | Show all 9 blocks; be honest about unknowns |
| Established company pivot | Change Value Proposition → trace impact to all other blocks |
| Partnership negotiation | Overlay partner's canvas to find complementary blocks |
| New market entry | Clone existing canvas, adapt Customer Segments and Channels |

### The 9 Blocks
| Block | Question |
|-------|---------|
| Customer Segments | Who are we creating value for? |
| Value Propositions | What problem do we solve? |
| Channels | How do we reach customers? |
| Customer Relationships | How do we acquire and retain? |
| Revenue Streams | How do we make money? |
| Key Resources | What assets are essential? |
| Key Activities | What must we do well? |
| Key Partnerships | Who do we rely on? |
| Cost Structure | What are the major costs? |

→ **Example**: [business_model_canvas.md](example/business_model_canvas.md)

---

## 13. RACI Chart

**What it is**: A responsibility assignment matrix showing who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for each task.

### When to Use
- Project kickoff: eliminate ambiguity about who owns what
- Cross-functional initiatives: clarify roles across departments
- Process documentation: define ownership at each process step
- Conflict resolution: reference the RACI when ownership disputes arise

### Scenarios
| Scenario | How to Apply |
|----------|-------------|
| Software release | Tasks: code, test, approve, deploy, communicate — assign RACI |
| Budget approval process | Finance, Business, Legal, CEO — who decides vs. who advises |
| Hiring process | Recruiter, Hiring Manager, HR, Panel — clear at each stage |
| Incident response | On-call, Manager, PR, Legal, Leadership — who does what |

### RACI Definitions
| Letter | Role | Rule |
|--------|------|------|
| **R** | Responsible | Does the work. Can be multiple people. |
| **A** | Accountable | Signs off. Must be exactly ONE person. |
| **C** | Consulted | Input required before decision. Two-way comm. |
| **I** | Informed | Notified of outcome. One-way comm. |

### Common Pitfalls
- Multiple **A** → no clear owner, leads to conflict
- No **R** on a task → it will never get done
- Over-consulting → too many C's slows decisions
- Confusing C and I → consult people who add value, inform the rest

→ **Example**: [raci_chart.md](example/raci_chart.md)

---

## 14. OKR Tree / Goal Cascade

**What it is**: A hierarchical tree diagram showing how company-level Objectives break down into departmental and team-level OKRs.

### When to Use
- Quarterly planning: cascade company OKRs to teams
- Annual strategy alignment: ensure every team has line-of-sight to company goals
- Progress reviews: show which branches are on-track vs. at-risk
- New team onboarding: explain how their work connects to company strategy

### Scenarios
| Scenario | How to Apply |
|----------|-------------|
| Q3 planning | CEO sets 3 company OKRs → VP level breaks into dept KRs → teams own tasks |
| Remote team alignment | Shared visual shows every team's contribution to company goals |
| Board update | Roll up all dept OKRs to company level with RAG (Red/Amber/Green) status |
| Investor due diligence | Demonstrate goal-setting discipline and execution tracking |

### Tree Structure
```
Company Objective
├── KR1: [Measurable outcome]
│   ├── Dept Objective A → supports KR1
│   │   └── Team KR: [specific metric]
│   └── Dept Objective B → supports KR1
└── KR2: [Measurable outcome]
    └── Dept Objective C → supports KR2
```

### Common Pitfalls
- Output-based KRs instead of outcome-based ("launch feature" vs. "increase retention 10%")
- Too many OKRs (>3 per level) → dilutes focus
- No mid-quarter review → OKRs become a formality

→ **Example**: [okr_tree.md](example/okr_tree.md)

---

## 15. Decision Tree

**What it is**: A branching flowchart mapping decisions and their possible outcomes, including probabilities and expected values.

### When to Use
- Go/No-go decisions: evaluate a product launch, investment, or pivot
- Risk analysis: quantify expected value of different paths
- Policy design: codify decision rules for recurring situations
- Crisis management: pre-plan responses to scenario branches

### Scenarios
| Scenario | How to Apply |
|----------|-------------|
| Market entry decision | Enter now vs. wait; each branch has cost, probability, and payoff |
| Pricing strategy | Premium vs. market vs. penetration pricing — model revenue outcomes |
| Hiring decision | Internal promotion vs. external hire — map fit, risk, cost |
| Fundraising | Bootstrap vs. seed vs. Series A — model runway and dilution |

### Key Elements
- **Square nodes**: decision points (you choose)
- **Circle nodes**: chance events (probability-weighted)
- **Triangle nodes**: outcomes (expected value = probability × payoff)
- **Pruning**: eliminate branches with negative expected value

### Expected Value Calculation
```
EV = Σ (Probability × Outcome)
Example: 
  60% chance of $1M success = $600K
  40% chance of $200K failure = $80K
  EV = $600K + $80K = $680K
```

→ **Example**: [decision_tree.md](example/decision_tree.md)

---

## 16. UML Sequence Flow

**What it is**: A time-ordered interaction diagram showing how actors, systems, tools, or data stores exchange messages across a workflow.

### When to Use
- Knowledge extraction, research, or analysis pipelines: User → LLM → raw data → processed data → analysis → output
- Product/system design: user actions, services, APIs, databases, queues, and downstream consumers
- Operational handoffs: requester, reviewer, automation, records, compliance, and reporting
- AI-agent workflows: planner, tool calls, file reads/writes, validation, and final synthesis

### Scenarios
| Scenario | How to Apply |
|----------|-------------|
| Knowledge extraction | Show discovery, scripting, cooking, analysis, synthesis, and visualization loops |
| API integration | Show request, service orchestration, database calls, external provider calls, and responses |
| AI workflow audit | Show user prompts, model actions, tool reads/writes, validation gates, and returned artifacts |
| Process governance | Show phase ownership, approvals, exception checks, and final record creation |

### Key Elements
- **Participants**: header boxes across the top for each actor/system/data store, with 24pt bold entity names
- **Lifelines**: warm amber vertical dashed lines under each participant
- **Activation bars**: teal vertical rectangles where a participant is active
- **Messages**: solid arrows for calls, reads, writes, and commands; dashed arrows for returns and confirmations
- **Loop/phase labels**: pastel bands on the left describing repeated workflow stages
- **Annotations**: short notes under important cross-system actions, such as consolidation or conflict checks

### Visual Rules
- Use a 16:9 draw.io page (`1600x900`) unless the user explicitly asks for another size.
- Keep the title centered at the top, with optional small brand mark at upper left.
- Use neutral participant headers (`#F7F7F7`, `#D9D9D9`) with 24pt bold text and warm dashed lifelines (`#D6A15E`).
- Use teal activation bars (`#55C7BE`, `#2AA79E`) to mirror the reference style.
- Use soft loop fills: blue discover, yellow script, pink cook/synthesize, green analyze.
- Avoid dense decorative backgrounds; this style should look like a clean PowerPoint-ready architecture/UML slide.

→ **Example**: [uml_sequence_flow.md](example/uml_sequence_flow.md)

### Billionary Trader Sequence Examples
- **Live account review loop**: [billionary_trader_live_review_sequence.md](example/billionary_trader_live_review_sequence.md)
- **Backtest engine loop**: [billionary_trader_backtest_sequence.md](example/billionary_trader_backtest_sequence.md)
- **Playbook evolution loop**: [billionary_trader_playbook_evolution_sequence.md](example/billionary_trader_playbook_evolution_sequence.md)

---

## Quick Reference: Chart Selection Guide

| Business Question | Best Chart |
|-------------------|-----------|
| "Are we on track?" | Burndown, Gantt |
| "Where is the money going?" | Waterfall |
| "What caused this problem?" | Fishbone |
| "Who does what?" | RACI |
| "Where should we invest?" | BCG Matrix, Heat Map |
| "What's our strategy?" | Balanced Scorecard, OKR Tree |
| "What's our business model?" | Business Model Canvas |
| "Where are leads dropping off?" | Funnel |
| "What's our situation?" | SWOT |
| "Which path should we take?" | Decision Tree |
| "How do actors/systems exchange steps over time?" | UML Sequence Flow |
| "Who do we need to manage?" | Stakeholder Map |
| "Where is waste in our process?" | Value Stream Map |

---

*All examples include draw.io XML for immediate use. Open draw.io → Extras → Edit Diagram → paste XML. New plots should default to a 16:9 draw.io page unless the user requests another ratio.*