Smarter Quadrant Charts in Power BI: Dynamic, Colorful & Fully Native

Quadrant charts are powerful tools to categorize and evaluate entities based on two key metrics. But until recently, creating them in Power BI required workarounds. Thanks to recent updates, you can now build dynamic, visually distinct quadrant charts natively complete with colored sections and flexible interaction. This guide walks you through every step to build a quadrant chart that's clean, intuitive, and fully interactive.
Apr 25 / datatraining
Step 1: Start With a Standard Scatter Plot

Create a scatter plot by placing your entities on two metrics. For example, vendors can be rated based on:

  • X-axis: Market Foresight
  • Y-axis: Operational Excellence
This visual alone gives a sense of distribution, but it's hard to interpret at a glance. That's where quadrants come in.

Step 2: Add Reference Lines for Quadrant Division

Use reference lines to divide the plot into quadrants.

Add X-axis Line (Vertical Division)
  • Go to Format pane > Reference lines
  • Add a new X-axis constant line
  • Set its value to 5 (or midpoint of your data)
  • Set line width = 0 to make it invisible
  • Enable shaded area and set position to Before
  • Choose a color (e.g., gray)
Repeat with a second X-axis line:

  • Same position: 5
  • Shading: After
  • Choose a different color (e.g., yellow)
Step 3: Add Y-axis Reference Line

  • Add a new Y-axis constant line
  • Set position: 5
  • Line width = 0
  • Enable shaded area
  • Position = After
  • Choose another color (e.g., blue)
You now see four distinct quadrants thanks to overlapping shaded areas. Mix your colors smartly – for example, yellow and blue blend into green in the top-right quadrant.

Step 4: Adjust Visual Aesthetics

To make your scatter plot easier to read:

  • Increase marker transparency to better view dots
  • Style markers (shape, size, border)
  • Adjust shading transparency to ~75%
Step 5: Make Quadrants Dynamic with Parameters

Use numeric parameters to allow users to interactively shift the quadrant boundaries.

1. Go to Modeling > New Parameter > Numeric Range
  • Name: Parameter X
  • Range: 1–10
  • Default: 5
2. Repeat for Parameter Y
Add both slicers to the report, style them compactly, and place near the chart title.
Link parameters to reference lines using fx binding:
  • Set the constant value of each reference line to the corresponding parameter (Parameter X or Parameter Y)
Step 6: Label Each Quadrant

Use reference line labels:
  • For top-right (e.g., Leaders)
  • For bottom-left (e.g., Niche Players)
  • Use dummy lines where needed to enable labels in places without lines

To fine-tune label placement and spacing:
  • Use empty Unicode characters from tools like emptycharacter.com to simulate padding
Step 7: Use Symmetry Shading for Extra Context

Enhance the chart with diagonal shading to show stronger orientation in one metric vs the other:
Add a diagonal shape or gradient
Use subtle colors (e.g., black/white with high transparency)
Final Touches

Your chart is now:
  • Visually distinct
  • Dynamic with adjustable quadrants
  • Fully native - no external tools required
Summary

Feature

Description

Reference Lines

Create quadrant borders using X and Y axes

Shading

Color each area using new shaded region option

Parameters

Dynamically adjust quadrant boundaries

Labels

Add quadrant names using line labels or dummy lines

Symmetry Shading

Visually guide interpretation within quadrants


Hope you like it!

Give it a try and see how it works for you! I’d love to hear what you think or see how you use this trick in your own reports.

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