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Dashboards for Excel

By Jordan Goldmeier

Dashboards for Excel Cover Image

Dashboards for Excel is your key to creating informative, vibrant and and interactive dashboards using a hands-on approach based on real-world experience.

Full Description

  • ISBN13: 978-1-4302-4944-3
  • 750 Pages
  • User Level: Intermediate
  • Publishing September 29, 2013, but available now as part of the Alpha Program
  • Available eBook Formats: PDF
  • Print Book Price: $59.99
  • eBook Price: $41.99
Full Description

Dashboards for Excel is your key to creating informative, actionable, and interactive dashboards that will have your managers singing your praises. The book takes a hands-on approach to developing dashboards, from instructing users on advanced Excel techniques to addressing dashboard pitfalls common in the real world. Throughout the book, the reader is challenged to think about Excel and data analytics differently—that is, to think outside the cell. This book will show you how to create dashboards in Excel quickly and effectively. Don’t wait—get started today.







  • Covers advanced Excel techniques mixing formulas and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to create interactive dashboards
  • Shows how dynamic charts and tables can be used to create dashboards that are constantly up-to-date and providing fresh information.
  • Demonstrates how to display important data summaries, analytics, and visualization all in the same Excel window!
  • Builds on a firm foundation of industry best practices and the author’s hard won real-world experience

What you’ll learn

  • Learn the visualization tools, charts, tables, and graphs important to management.
  • Understand what management doesn’t want to see in a report
  • Turn around dashboards faster and cheaper than ever before
  • Understand the key role dashboards play in an organization
  • Analyze real-world dashboards to apply important features to your own organization
  • Utilize understated, but powerful, Excel formulas and VBA code
  • Avoid common pitfalls in Excel development and dashboard creation

Who this book is for

This book is for many people. It’s for the developer who isn’t satisfied by accepting Excel’s so-called limitations, who feels that with some creativity, spreadsheets can become a powerful and informative decision engine. It’s for the Excel user who has spent hours—even outside of work—experimenting with Excel formulas and macros in an attempt to find a better, more efficient way to complete a task. It’s for the user who believes in the power of the spreadsheet.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Part I: All about Dashboards







Chapter 1: A view from the driver’s seat







Chapter 2: A critical look at dashboards







Chapter 3: The Principles of Dashboard Visualization







Chapter 4: The Excel advantage (or “Excelerating your dashboard”)















Part II: Excel Dashboard Design Basics







Chapter 5: Getting Started: Thinking Outside the Cell







Chapter 6: Excel Formulas, a Refresher







Chapter 7: Visual Basic for Applications for Excel, a Refresher







Chapter 8: Avoiding pitfalls in Excel development















Part III: Formulas, Controls, and Some VBA—Your First Dashboard







Chapter 9: The Components of a Dashboard







Chapter 10: Introduction to Controls







Chapter 11: Formulas for Dashboard Reporting







Chapter 12: Our first dashboard: Sales tracking dashboard







Chapter 13: Controls Advanced (VBA)







Chapter 14: Putting it all together: Analysis of Alternatives Dashboard















Part IV: Charting new territory!







Chapter 15: Introduction to Dynamic Charts







Chapter 16: Panel charts







Chapter 17: Putting it all together: One-way sensitivity analysis Dashboard







Chapter 18: Other Great Charts







Chapter 19: Advanced Dynamic Charts







Chapter 20: Dynamic Dashboard Tables Techniques







Chapter 21: Advanced Dashboard Tables







Chapter 22: Putting it all together: Workforce Planning Dashboard















Part V: Advanced Dashboards with Databases







Chapter 23: Dashboard Design Principles Review







Chapter 24: Using shapes and other Excel objects (reusable components)







Chapter 25: Introduction to pulling data from Microsoft Access






Chapter 26: Putting it all together: Employee Training Management System







Chapter 27: Advanced Access Data Pulls







Chapter 28: Other (Lost?) Dashboard Components and Techniques







Chapter 29: Sports Analytics Dashboard















Part VI: Appendix







Appendix A: Good Change Management: How to sell an Excel dashboard to a reluctant organization. 







Appendix B: The Future: PowerPivot for Excel 2010
Errata

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