Glossary
The vocabulary of consulting and finance slides, in plain words: chart types, slide conventions and the terms used in Deckcell.
- Action title
- A slide title written as a full sentence that states the takeaway, such as “Services will pass products by 2026”, rather than a topic like “Revenue by segment”. Reading only the action titles should tell the whole story.
- Tracker
- A small label at the top of a slide showing which section of the deck it belongs to, so readers know where they are.
- Steering committee (steerco)
- The senior group that oversees a project and takes its decisions. A “steerco deck” is the presentation prepared for its meetings.
- Waterfall chart (bridge)
- A chart that shows how a starting value becomes an ending value through increases and decreases, with floating bars between two totals. Waterfall charts in Deckcell.
- Mekko chart (Marimekko)
- A stacked chart whose column widths also vary with the data, often used as a market map: width shows segment size, the stack shows share. Mekko charts in Deckcell.
- Gantt chart
- A timeline with a bar per activity from its start to end date, and diamonds for milestones. Gantt charts in Deckcell.
- Pareto chart
- Bars sorted from largest to smallest with a cumulative percentage line, used to show the few causes that account for most of an effect.
- Butterfly chart (tornado chart)
- Two bar charts back to back around a central axis, used to compare two groups, such as men and women by age band.
- CAGR
- Compound annual growth rate: the constant yearly growth that takes a value from its start to its end over a period. Consulting charts often show it in a bubble with an arrow between two columns.
- Harvey ball
- A small circle filled in quarters (or any fraction) to rate options at a glance, common in comparison tables. Smart elements in Deckcell.
- Traffic light (RAG status)
- A red, amber or green marker for the status of a project, risk or workstream.
- Issue tree
- A diagram that breaks a question into smaller, non-overlapping questions, used to structure a problem before analysing it.
- MECE
- “Mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive”: a set of categories that don’t overlap and together cover everything. The standard test for an issue tree or a list of options.
- 2×2 matrix
- A grid of two axes, each split in two, that sorts options into four quadrants, such as impact against effort.
- End-of-chart labels
- Series names written beside the last column or the end of each line instead of in a separate legend, so readers don’t have to match colours.
- Master shape
- In Deckcell’s layout tools, the shape you selected last. Other shapes are aligned, docked or sized to it. Layout tools.
- Datasheet
- The small spreadsheet behind a Deckcell chart, saved with it, so you can select the chart later and edit its numbers.
Spend the evening on the story, not the formatting
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