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Data Visualization Agent Skill

Create visualizations for construction data. Generate charts, graphs, heatmaps, and interactive dashboards using Matplotlib, Seaborn, and Plotly for project analysis and reporting.

5k tokens
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Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository
npx skills add https://github.com/datadrivenconstruction/DDC_Skills_for_AI_Agents_in_Construction --skill data-visualization

The instruction itself

21 sections, as written by the author

Data Visualization for Construction

Overview

Based on DDC methodology (Chapter 4.1), this skill provides comprehensive data visualization techniques for construction analytics. Visual insights drive better decisions - from cost breakdowns to schedule analysis.

Book Reference: "Аналитика данных и принятие решений" / "Data Analytics and Decision Making"

> "Визуализация данных превращает сложные наборы данных в понятные графики, которые могут использоваться для принятия решений на всех уровнях проекта."

> — DDC Book, Chapter 4.1

Quick Start

import pandas as pd
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import seaborn as sns

# Load construction data
df = pd.read_excel("project_data.xlsx")

# Quick bar chart - volumes by category
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(10, 6))
df.groupby('Category')['Volume_m3'].sum().plot(kind='bar', ax=ax)
ax.set_title('Volume by Category')
ax.set_ylabel('Volume (m³)')
plt.tight_layout()
plt.savefig('volume_by_category.png', dpi=150)
plt.show()

Matplotlib Fundamentals

Basic Charts for Construction

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import pandas as pd
import numpy as np

def create_cost_breakdown_pie(df, cost_col='Cost', category_col='Category'):
    """Create pie chart for cost breakdown"""
    costs = df.groupby(category_col)[cost_col].sum()

    fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(10, 8))

    # Create pie with percentage labels
    wedges, texts, autotexts = ax.pie(
        costs.values,
        labels=costs.index,
        autopct='%1.1f%%',
        startangle=90,
        colors=plt.cm.Set3.colors
    )

    ax.set_title('Cost Breakdown by Category', fontsize=14, fontweight='bold')

    # Add total in center
    ax.text(0, 0, f'Total:\n${costs.sum():,.0f}',
            ha='center', va='center', fontsize=12)

    plt.tight_layout()
    return fig

def create_volume_bar_chart(df, volume_col='Volume_m3', category_col='Category'):
    """Create horizontal bar chart for volumes"""
    volumes = df.groupby(category_col)[volume_col].sum().sort_values()

    fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(10, 6))

    bars = ax.barh(volumes.index, volumes.values, color='steelblue')

    # Add value labels
    for bar, value in zip(bars, volumes.values):
        ax.text(value + volumes.max() * 0.01, bar.get_y() + bar.get_height()/2,
                f'{value:,.0f} m³', va='center', fontsize=10)

    ax.set_xlabel('Volume (m³)')
    ax.set_title('Material Volumes by Category', fontsize=14, fontweight='bold')
    ax.set_xlim(0, volumes.max() * 1.15)

    plt.tight_layout()
    return fig

def create_level_comparison(df, value_col='Volume_m3', level_col='Level'):
    """Create grouped bar chart comparing levels"""
    pivot = df.pivot_table(
        values=value_col,
        index=level_col,
        columns='Category',
        aggfunc='sum',
        fill_value=0
    )

    fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(12, 6))
    pivot.plot(kind='bar', ax=ax, width=0.8)

    ax.set_xlabel('Building Level')
    ax.set_ylabel('Volume (m³)')
    ax.set_title('Volume Distribution by Level and Category', fontsize=14, fontweight='bold')
    ax.legend(title='Category', bbox_to_anchor=(1.02, 1), loc='upper left')

    plt.xticks(rotation=45)
    plt.tight_layout()
    return fig

Time Series Visualization

def create_progress_chart(df, date_col='Date', value_col='Cumulative_Progress'):
    """Create S-curve progress chart"""
    df = df.sort_values(date_col)

    fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(12, 6))

    # Actual progress
    ax.plot(df[date_col], df[value_col],
            'b-', linewidth=2, label='Actual Progress')

    # Planned progress (if available)
    if 'Planned_Progress' in df.columns:
        ax.plot(df[date_col], df['Planned_Progress'],
                'g--', linewidth=2, label='Planned Progress')

    ax.fill_between(df[date_col], 0, df[value_col], alpha=0.3)

    ax.set_xlabel('Date')
    ax.set_ylabel('Progress (%)')
    ax.set_title('Project S-Curve', fontsize=14, fontweight='bold')
    ax.legend()
    ax.grid(True, alpha=0.3)

    # Format dates
    fig.autofmt_xdate()

    plt.tight_layout()
    return fig

def create_gantt_chart(df, start_col='Start', end_col='End', task_col='Task'):
    """Create simple Gantt chart"""
    df = df.sort_values(start_col)

    fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(14, len(df) * 0.5 + 2))

    # Plot each task as horizontal bar
    for i, (_, row) in enumerate(df.iterrows()):
        start = pd.to_datetime(row[start_col])
        end = pd.to_datetime(row[end_col])
        duration = (end - start).days

        ax.barh(i, duration, left=start, height=0.6,
                align='center', color='steelblue', alpha=0.8)

    ax.set_yticks(range(len(df)))
    ax.set_yticklabels(df[task_col])
    ax.set_xlabel('Date')
    ax.set_title('Project Schedule - Gantt Chart', fontsize=14, fontweight='bold')
    ax.grid(axis='x', alpha=0.3)

    fig.autofmt_xdate()
    plt.tight_layout()
    return fig

Seaborn for Statistical Visualization

Distribution Analysis

import seaborn as sns

def create_distribution_analysis(df, value_col='Volume_m3', category_col='Category'):
    """Create distribution plots for construction data"""
    fig, axes = plt.subplots(2, 2, figsize=(14, 10))

    # 1. Histogram with KDE
    sns.histplot(data=df, x=value_col, kde=True, ax=axes[0, 0])
    axes[0, 0].set_title('Volume Distribution')

    # 2. Box plot by category
    sns.boxplot(data=df, x=category_col, y=value_col, ax=axes[0, 1])
    axes[0, 1].set_xticklabels(axes[0, 1].get_xticklabels(), rotation=45)
    axes[0, 1].set_title('Volume by Category')

    # 3. Violin plot
    sns.violinplot(data=df, x=category_col, y=value_col, ax=axes[1, 0])
    axes[1, 0].set_xticklabels(axes[1, 0].get_xticklabels(), rotation=45)
    axes[1, 0].set_title('Volume Distribution by Category')

    # 4. Strip plot with jitter
    sns.stripplot(data=df, x=category_col, y=value_col,
                  ax=axes[1, 1], alpha=0.5, jitter=True)
    axes[1, 1].set_xticklabels(axes[1, 1].get_xticklabels(), rotation=45)
    axes[1, 1].set_title('Individual Elements')

    plt.tight_layout()
    return fig

def create_correlation_heatmap(df, numeric_cols=None):
    """Create correlation heatmap for numeric columns"""
    if numeric_cols is None:
        numeric_cols = df.select_dtypes(include=[np.number]).columns.tolist()

    corr_matrix = df[numeric_cols].corr()

    fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(10, 8))

    sns.heatmap(corr_matrix,
                annot=True,
                cmap='RdYlBu_r',
                center=0,
                fmt='.2f',
                square=True,
                ax=ax)

    ax.set_title('Correlation Matrix', fontsize=14, fontweight='bold')

    plt.tight_layout()
    return fig

Category Analysis

def create_category_summary(df, category_col='Category',
                            value_col='Volume_m3', cost_col='Cost'):
    """Create comprehensive category summary visualization"""
    fig, axes = plt.subplots(2, 2, figsize=(14, 10))

    # 1. Count by category
    category_counts = df[category_col].value_counts()
    sns.barplot(x=category_counts.index, y=category_counts.values, ax=axes[0, 0])
    axes[0, 0].set_title('Element Count by Category')
    axes[0, 0].set_xticklabels(axes[0, 0].get_xticklabels(), rotation=45)

    # 2. Total volume by category
    volumes = df.groupby(category_col)[value_col].sum().sort_values(ascending=False)
    sns.barplot(x=volumes.index, y=volumes.values, ax=axes[0, 1])
    axes[0, 1].set_title('Total Volume by Category')
    axes[0, 1].set_xticklabels(axes[0, 1].get_xticklabels(), rotation=45)

    # 3. Average cost by category
    if cost_col in df.columns:
        avg_cost = df.groupby(category_col)[cost_col].mean().sort_values(ascending=False)
        sns.barplot(x=avg_cost.index, y=avg_cost.values, ax=axes[1, 0])
        axes[1, 0].set_title('Average Cost by Category')
        axes[1, 0].set_xticklabels(axes[1, 0].get_xticklabels(), rotation=45)

    # 4. Volume vs Cost scatter
    if cost_col in df.columns:
        sns.scatterplot(data=df, x=value_col, y=cost_col,
                        hue=category_col, alpha=0.7, ax=axes[1, 1])
        axes[1, 1].set_title('Volume vs Cost')
        axes[1, 1].legend(bbox_to_anchor=(1.02, 1), loc='upper left')

    plt.tight_layout()
    return fig

Plotly for Interactive Dashboards

Interactive Charts

import plotly.express as px
import plotly.graph_objects as go
from plotly.subplots import make_subplots

def create_interactive_cost_breakdown(df, category_col='Category', cost_col='Cost'):
    """Create interactive sunburst chart"""
    # Aggregate by category and material
    agg_df = df.groupby([category_col, 'Material'])[cost_col].sum().reset_index()

    fig = px.sunburst(
        agg_df,
        path=[category_col, 'Material'],
        values=cost_col,
        title='Cost Breakdown by Category and Material'
    )

    fig.update_layout(height=600)
    return fig

def create_interactive_3d_scatter(df, x_col='Volume_m3', y_col='Cost',
                                   z_col='Weight_kg', color_col='Category'):
    """Create 3D scatter plot for multi-dimensional analysis"""
    fig = px.scatter_3d(
        df,
        x=x_col,
        y=y_col,
        z=z_col,
        color=color_col,
        hover_data=['ElementId'],
        title='3D Analysis: Volume vs Cost vs Weight'
    )

    fig.update_layout(height=700)
    return fig

def create_interactive_timeline(df, date_col='Date', value_col='Progress',
                                 category_col='Phase'):
    """Create interactive timeline with range slider"""
    fig = px.line(
        df,
        x=date_col,
        y=value_col,
        color=category_col,
        title='Project Progress Timeline'
    )

    fig.update_layout(
        xaxis=dict(
            rangeselector=dict(
                buttons=list([
                    dict(count=1, label="1m", step="month", stepmode="backward"),
                    dict(count=3, label="3m", step="month", stepmode="backward"),
                    dict(count=6, label="6m", step="month", stepmode="backward"),
                    dict(step="all", label="All")
                ])
            ),
            rangeslider=dict(visible=True),
            type="date"
        ),
        height=500
    )

    return fig

Dashboard Layout

def create_project_dashboard(df):
    """Create comprehensive project dashboard"""
    fig = make_subplots(
        rows=2, cols=2,
        subplot_titles=(
            'Cost by Category',
            'Volume Distribution',
            'Elements by Level',
            'Progress Over Time'
        ),
        specs=[
            [{"type": "pie"}, {"type": "bar"}],
            [{"type": "bar"}, {"type": "scatter"}]
        ]
    )

    # 1. Cost pie chart
    costs = df.groupby('Category')['Cost'].sum()
    fig.add_trace(
        go.Pie(labels=costs.index, values=costs.values, name='Cost'),
        row=1, col=1
    )

    # 2. Volume bar chart
    volumes = df.groupby('Category')['Volume_m3'].sum().sort_values(ascending=True)
    fig.add_trace(
        go.Bar(x=volumes.values, y=volumes.index, orientation='h', name='Volume'),
        row=1, col=2
    )

    # 3. Elements by level
    level_counts = df.groupby('Level').size()
    fig.add_trace(
        go.Bar(x=level_counts.index, y=level_counts.values, name='Count'),
        row=2, col=1
    )

    # 4. Progress scatter (if available)
    if 'Date' in df.columns and 'Progress' in df.columns:
        fig.add_trace(
            go.Scatter(x=df['Date'], y=df['Progress'], mode='lines+markers', name='Progress'),
            row=2, col=2
        )

    fig.update_layout(
        height=800,
        title_text='Project Analytics Dashboard',
        showlegend=False
    )

    return fig

Construction-Specific Visualizations

Heatmaps for Level Analysis

def create_level_heatmap(df, level_col='Level', category_col='Category',
                          value_col='Volume_m3'):
    """Create heatmap for level-by-category analysis"""
    pivot = df.pivot_table(
        values=value_col,
        index=level_col,
        columns=category_col,
        aggfunc='sum',
        fill_value=0
    )

    fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(12, 8))

    sns.heatmap(
        pivot,
        annot=True,
        fmt=',.0f',
        cmap='YlOrRd',
        ax=ax,
        cbar_kws={'label': 'Volume (m³)'}
    )

    ax.set_title('Volume Distribution: Level × Category', fontsize=14, fontweight='bold')

    plt.tight_layout()
    return fig

def create_material_treemap(df, category_col='Category', material_col='Material',
                             value_col='Volume_m3'):
    """Create treemap for hierarchical material analysis"""
    agg_df = df.groupby([category_col, material_col])[value_col].sum().reset_index()

    fig = px.treemap(
        agg_df,
        path=[category_col, material_col],
        values=value_col,
        title='Material Distribution Treemap',
        color=value_col,
        color_continuous_scale='Blues'
    )

    fig.update_layout(height=600)
    return fig

Cost Analysis Charts

def create_cost_analysis_dashboard(df):
    """Create comprehensive cost analysis visualization"""
    fig, axes = plt.subplots(2, 3, figsize=(18, 10))

    # 1. Cost distribution histogram
    sns.histplot(data=df, x='Cost', bins=30, ax=axes[0, 0])
    axes[0, 0].set_title('Cost Distribution')
    axes[0, 0].axvline(df['Cost'].mean(), color='r', linestyle='--', label='Mean')
    axes[0, 0].axvline(df['Cost'].median(), color='g', linestyle='--', label='Median')
    axes[0, 0].legend()

    # 2. Cost by category (box plot)
    sns.boxplot(data=df, x='Category', y='Cost', ax=axes[0, 1])
    axes[0, 1].set_xticklabels(axes[0, 1].get_xticklabels(), rotation=45)
    axes[0, 1].set_title('Cost Range by Category')

    # 3. Cumulative cost
    sorted_costs = df.sort_values('Cost', ascending=False)
    sorted_costs['Cumulative_Cost'] = sorted_costs['Cost'].cumsum()
    sorted_costs['Cumulative_Pct'] = sorted_costs['Cumulative_Cost'] / sorted_costs['Cost'].sum() * 100
    axes[0, 2].plot(range(len(sorted_costs)), sorted_costs['Cumulative_Pct'])
    axes[0, 2].axhline(80, color='r', linestyle='--', alpha=0.5)
    axes[0, 2].set_xlabel('Number of Elements')
    axes[0, 2].set_ylabel('Cumulative Cost %')
    axes[0, 2].set_title('Pareto Analysis (80/20)')

    # 4. Cost per unit volume
    df['Cost_per_m3'] = df['Cost'] / df['Volume_m3'].replace(0, np.nan)
    by_cat = df.groupby('Category')['Cost_per_m3'].mean().sort_values(ascending=True)
    axes[1, 0].barh(by_cat.index, by_cat.values)
    axes[1, 0].set_title('Average Cost per m³ by Category')

    # 5. Top 10 elements by cost
    top10 = df.nlargest(10, 'Cost')
    axes[1, 1].barh(top10['ElementId'], top10['Cost'])
    axes[1, 1].set_title('Top 10 Elements by Cost')

    # 6. Cost vs Volume scatter with regression
    sns.regplot(data=df, x='Volume_m3', y='Cost', ax=axes[1, 2],
                scatter_kws={'alpha': 0.5})
    axes[1, 2].set_title('Cost vs Volume (with Trend)')

    plt.tight_layout()
    return fig

Export and Reporting

Save Visualizations

def save_all_visualizations(df, output_dir='reports/charts'):
    """Generate and save all standard visualizations"""
    import os
    os.makedirs(output_dir, exist_ok=True)

    # Generate charts
    charts = {
        'cost_breakdown': create_cost_breakdown_pie(df),
        'volume_bars': create_volume_bar_chart(df),
        'distribution': create_distribution_analysis(df),
        'level_heatmap': create_level_heatmap(df)
    }

    # Save each chart
    saved_files = []
    for name, fig in charts.items():
        filepath = f"{output_dir}/{name}.png"
        fig.savefig(filepath, dpi=150, bbox_inches='tight')
        plt.close(fig)
        saved_files.append(filepath)

    return saved_files

def create_pdf_report(df, output_path='project_report.pdf'):
    """Create PDF report with multiple visualizations"""
    from matplotlib.backends.backend_pdf import PdfPages

    with PdfPages(output_path) as pdf:
        # Page 1: Overview
        fig1 = create_cost_breakdown_pie(df)
        pdf.savefig(fig1)
        plt.close(fig1)

        # Page 2: Volume analysis
        fig2 = create_volume_bar_chart(df)
        pdf.savefig(fig2)
        plt.close(fig2)

        # Page 3: Distribution
        fig3 = create_distribution_analysis(df)
        pdf.savefig(fig3)
        plt.close(fig3)

        # Page 4: Heatmap
        fig4 = create_level_heatmap(df)
        pdf.savefig(fig4)
        plt.close(fig4)

    return output_path

Quick Reference

| Chart Type | Best For | Library |

|------------|----------|---------|

| Bar Chart | Category comparisons | Matplotlib/Seaborn |

| Pie Chart | Cost breakdown | Matplotlib |

| Heatmap | Level × Category matrix | Seaborn |

| Box Plot | Distribution by group | Seaborn |

| Scatter | Relationship analysis | Matplotlib/Plotly |

| Treemap | Hierarchical data | Plotly |

| Sunburst | Multi-level breakdown | Plotly |

| Gantt | Schedule visualization | Matplotlib |

| S-Curve | Progress tracking | Matplotlib |

Color Palettes for Construction

# Professional color palettes
CONSTRUCTION_COLORS = {
    'primary': ['#2C3E50', '#3498DB', '#1ABC9C', '#F39C12', '#E74C3C'],
    'materials': {
        'Concrete': '#95A5A6',
        'Steel': '#34495E',
        'Timber': '#D35400',
        'Brick': '#C0392B',
        'Glass': '#3498DB'
    },
    'categories': {
        'Structural': '#2C3E50',
        'Architectural': '#3498DB',
        'MEP': '#27AE60',
        'Finishes': '#F39C12'
    }
}

Resources

  • Book: "Data-Driven Construction" by Artem Boiko, Chapter 4.1
  • Website: https://datadrivenconstruction.io
  • Matplotlib: https://matplotlib.org
  • Seaborn: https://seaborn.pydata.org
  • Plotly: https://plotly.com/python

Next Steps

  • See pandas-construction-analysis for data preparation
  • See cost-prediction for predictive analytics
  • See qto-report for quantity extraction

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