Matplotlib Stacked Segments - Time Series Mechanics

Separate Segment From Total

Start with two teams. Team A has 4 new and 6 returning. Team B has 7 new and 2 returning. Add each stack before comparing totals: Team A totals 10, and Team B totals 9. Team B has the larger new segment, but Team A has the larger total. Read the segment and the full bar before making the claim.

A tiny chart-reading step: read stacked-bar segments separately from the full bar total.

highlighted = computed this step

Start with segment values

Start with 2 pinned stacked bars.

\text{pinned segments}

Add each stack total

Add the segments in each stack before making a total comparison.

\text{segment totals}

Read segments and totals

Read each colored segment separately from the full bar height.

\text{segments versus total}

Keep the claims separate

Team B has the larger new segment, but Team A has the larger total.

\text{separate stacked claims}