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Excel Analyst

Dashboard thinking

What makes a dashboard useful
Operational, strategic and analytical dashboards
Choosing the right KPIs
Knowing your audience
Sketching a blueprint

Preparing your data

Clean data rules for reporting
Tables and named ranges
Power Query refresh pipelines
Building a calculations sheet
Checking your numbers

Layout and visual design

Grids and alignment
Visual hierarchy
Colour, fonts and accessibility
Choosing the right visual for each question
Designing for screens and for print

Charts and KPI cards

Building KPI cards
Trend and comparison charts
Sparklines and in cell charts
Data bars, icon sets and colour scales
Dynamic titles and labels

Interactivity

Slicers and timelines
Drop down selectors
Form controls
Linking several PivotTables
Drill down views

Advanced techniques

Dynamic ranges with FILTER and XLOOKUP
Scenario switches
Buttons and navigation
Scripts to refresh and export
Testing a dashboard before release

Performance and sharing

Reducing file size
Efficient formulas
Protecting and sharing safely
Sharing through Teams and SharePoint
Handing off to Power BI

Dashboard projects

Project: sales performance
Project: budget versus actual
Project: project status
Project: HR headcount and turnover
Project: operations and stock

A-2-5 · Preparing your data

6 min

Checking your numbers

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