If we do want to make comparisons between slices, then we are forced to reorganize the data in our brain. I explain more about this in my article on When to Use Pie Charts – Best Practices.
If we remove the value labels, it's nearly impossible to compare and order the sizes of each slice.
The only story this pie chart can effectively tell us about the data is that all of the slices (categories) performed about the same. One example is this really “cool” quartile (box) plot I made once… What Story Does This Chart Tell? If you make confusing charts, then you'll end up having to follow your Excel and PowerPoint files around to explain the chart to everyone. In the case of this pie chart, our eyes have to make a lot of comparisons between each slice to determine which is the winner, and how all the results stack up against each other. This is not only time consuming, but can leave the reader confused or frustrated. If a chart is difficult to understand and doesn't present a clear story, then our brains have to do extra work to read it. You've probably heard the saying before, “a picture is worth a thousand words”, and this can be true for charts too. We want to turn a sea of data into a visual that tells a story in a matter of seconds. These are the basic principles of data visualization (aka chart building). Our job as chart creators is to tell this story in a way that is fast & easy for the viewer to understand. That is, what can we learn from the data to help make informed decisions? The goal of any chart (graph) is to tell a story about the data. It all depends on what message (story) the author is trying to tell. I think arguments can be made on both sides. What insights can I immediately gain about this data? I had to study the chart for a minute to figure out the story it was attempting to tell. It displays the results of a survey based on the question, “How long does it take you to decide if you want to see a “first date” again?” I recently saw this pie chart in a magazine and it caught my attention. Pie Chart Alternatives With Survey Data.xlsx Download An Effective Use of Pie?
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