# A bump chart in Power BI: rankings over time, no RANKX needed

> Get started with Bump Plume: prepare a table, insert the visual, let it compute the ranks, set the Top N, read entries and exits and replay the evolution.

- Language: English
- Web page: https://plumevisuals.com/en/tutorials/bump-plume-prise-en-main
- Published: 2026-10-21
- Visual: Bump Plume, technical reference: https://plumevisuals.com/ai/visuals/bump-chart.md
- If an option name in this tutorial differs from the technical reference, the reference is right (it is generated from the visual's code).

## In short

**What is a bump chart?** It is a chart of rankings: each line follows an entity (a product, a team, a region) and its height gives its **rank** in each period, with the leader at the top. You see at a glance who climbs, who falls, who enters the ranking and who leaves it.

Mini example. In 2023, Alpha sells 400, Bravo 300, Charlie 200: Alpha is 1st, Bravo 2nd, Charlie 3rd. In 2024, Bravo rises to 350 and Alpha drops to 300: the lines of Alpha and Bravo cross.

- **What the visual does.** Bump Plume computes the rank of each entity in each period from a measure (no `RANKX` needed), puts rank 1 at the top, keeps the first N and shows entries ▲ and exits ▼, writes the names at both ends of the lines and draws the evolution period by period. As premium features (★), it also offers guided playback (▶ button, play bar), steps, a metro map, ribbons sized by value, rank changes, ranking zones and a Ranks / Values switch.
- **When to use it.** Sales ranking by product or store, market shares, sports standings, sales rep leaderboards, delivery lead times (fastest first).
- **When to use something else.** When value gaps matter more than places: Line Plume. For the composition of a total: Bar Plume with stacked bars.
- **What you will learn.** Prepare the data, insert the visual, choose how to rank, set the Top N, read entries and exits, replay the evolution.
- **What you need:** Power BI Desktop, the Bump Plume visual installed (see [the common basics](/en/tutorials/bien-demarrer-visuels-plume)), a table with a period, an entity and a value. The **PlumeBumpChart-Sample-EN** sample report, in your ["Downloads"](/en/account/downloads) area, shows the ranking of 12 brands (page 1), a league, market shares and lead times (page 2) and the premium designs ★ (page 3).

## The data to provide

**The shape.** One row per period and per entity, with a value. The visual ranks the entities in each period: it needs neither a rank column nor a `RANKX` measure.

| Year | Brand | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Alpha | 400,000 |
| 2023 | Bravo | 300,000 |
| 2023 | Charlie | 200,000 |
| 2024 | Alpha | 300,000 |
| 2024 | Bravo | 350,000 |
| 2024 | Charlie | 100,000 |
| 2025 | Alpha | 200,000 |
| 2025 | Bravo | 380,000 |
| 2025 | Charlie | 250,000 |

To try it without a file: **Modeling › New table**, then paste:

```dax
Sales =
DATATABLE (
    "Year", INTEGER,
    "Brand", STRING,
    "Revenue", DOUBLE,
    {
        { 2023, "Alpha", 400000 }, { 2023, "Bravo", 300000 }, { 2023, "Charlie", 200000 },
        { 2024, "Alpha", 300000 }, { 2024, "Bravo", 350000 }, { 2024, "Charlie", 100000 },
        { 2025, "Alpha", 200000 }, { 2025, "Bravo", 380000 }, { 2025, "Charlie", 250000 }
    }
)
```

Then the measure (right-click the **Sales** table › **New measure**):

```dax
-- Sum of revenue in the current context (one year, one brand)
Total revenue = SUM ( Sales[Revenue] )
```

**Pitfalls.**
- **Periods** can be a date, a year, a month, a round number or a sorted category ("2025-Q1"). A date or a number is put back in order by the visual; text follows Power BI's sort order ("R10" before "R2": prefer a number).
- **A period without a value** for an entity: it is not ranked in that period (the line breaks). A value of **0** is ranked.
- **With the automatic date hierarchy**, pick the level you want (Year, Month) or use the date column without the hierarchy.

## Step by step

1. In the **Visualizations** pane, click the **Bump Plume** icon. An empty visual shows "Add fields to get started".
2. Drag `Sales[Year]` into **Axis (time)**. The message names the field still missing.
3. Drag `Sales[Brand]` into **Legend (entity)**.
4. Drag the `Total revenue` measure into **Value (ranked by the visual)**. The lines draw themselves from 2023 to 2025: Alpha 1st in 2023, Bravo 1st in 2024 and 2025. The rank is written in each marker, the names at the start and the end.
5. Hover over Charlie's line: it comes forward and the others fade; the tooltip gives the rank, the value, the change since the previous period and the best rank.
6. Click Bravo's line: the page is filtered on Bravo. Click an empty area to go back.
7. Open **Format › Ranking**. Set **Number of entities (Top N, 0 = all)**: with your own data, 10 keeps the first 10 in each period. An entity that leaves drops into the "Outside the top 10" row (▼) and comes back up when it returns (▲).
8. Still in **Ranking**, choose **Rank 1 =** *Lowest value* when the smallest wins (times, costs, lead times).
9. Filter the page on another set of brands (slicer or a click in another visual): the points glide to their new place; with new data, the lines redraw themselves period by period.
10. Open **Format › Design › Design** and try *Sharp breaks* or *Stacked ribbons (ribbon chart)*; go back to *S-curves*.

## Troubleshooting

| What you see | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| "Add what is ranked… in Legend (entity)" | The Legend well is empty | Drag the entity (product, team…) into **Legend (entity)** |
| A single column of points | Only one period (filter, or date hierarchy at Year level with one year) | Change the hierarchy level or the filter |
| Ranks differ from `RANKX` | Different tie method, or ranking direction | **Format › Ranking › Ties** = *Standard* (like RANKX Skip), **Rank 1 =** the right direction |
| Some entities are missing | Top N set to 10 | **Number of entities** = 0 for all |
| Periods are out of order | Text axis sorted alphabetically | Use a numeric column or sort the text column by another column (**Sort by column**) |
| "Nothing to rank" | The measure is blank for every entity | Check the measure and the filters |
| A "Premium preview" watermark | A ★ feature is used without a key | Go back to the free setting or paste your key in **Format › Plume Studio License** |

## Key takeaways

- One row per period and per entity, one measure: the visual computes the ranks.
- Rank 1 is at the top; ties never hide each other (they sit side by side and are marked "=2").
- The Top N keeps the lines readable and shows who enters ▲ and who leaves ▼.
- Hovering brings an entity forward, clicking filters the page.

## Going further

- [Bump Plume how-to recipes](/en/tutorials/bump-plume-cas-pratiques): ties, Top N, given rank, metro ★, ribbons ★, playback ★, zones ★.
- [All fields and settings](/en/tutorials/bump-plume-champs-et-reglages).
- [Getting started with Plume visuals](/en/tutorials/bien-demarrer-visuels-plume): installation, license, styles, dynamic formats.
- The [Bump Plume page](/en/visuals/bump-chart) and [support](/en/support).