Briefle words · Data & charts
Anomaly
Also called spike
A value that breaks sharply from the surrounding pattern and usually has a specific cause worth stating.
Say it to an AI
Line chart of daily signups for the last two weeks as a time series with three gridlines. Add one annotation at the Oct 9 spike, a marker plus 'Oct 9: TV campaign aired, 410 signups', so the anomaly is explained on the chart itself; no other labels needed.
How an expert would brief the stronger version of “Daily signups chart”.
See it
Try it as a puzzle →Acquisition chart on the growth dashboard of a language-learning app.
Why: Signups sit between 118 and 142 for eleven days, jump to 410 on Oct 9 and ease back through 265 and 190.
Related words
Room 1 · Essentials
Learn “Anomaly” in a five-minute lesson