Timeseries Value Lookup and difference in Quicksight

1. Create a dataset to connect your Data Source I used a simple excel spreadsheet with 3 columns "date","metric","value"

Be sure to configure the 'date' column so it correctly parses your data source date formats The help on "Preparing Datasets" has advice on this Make sure the "date" column is of "Date" type (it looks like a calendar icon)

2. Create an Analysis from your dataset
3. Create a calculated field (in either the analysis or the dataset)
   For analysis click "Add" , "Add calculated field" The calculated field should produce "miles driven" since the previous record. I used the following formula

max(value) - lag(max(value),[date ASC],1)

The documentation for calculated fields has many examples of this. The above produces the difference between the maximum of the current time period's miles minus the maximum of the previous time periods miles.

I called my field "driven"

4. Add (or reuse the default) visual.
   Select the chart wanted (I clicked on a column chart)
5. Drag "date" and "driven" onto the visual
6. Using the Field Well, select "date" and change the agragation to whatever period you want, I chose "By Month"

The result is a column graph of miles driven per month