Welcome back. In part 3 of Making a Customer Service Dashboard using Excel let us learn how to create the charts in our dashboard.
Designing Customer Service Dashboard
Data and Calculations for the Dashboard
Creating the dashboard in Excel
Adding Macros & Final touches
Deconstructing the header area – Customer Service Dashboard
I like to keep a header area on all my dashboards. The purpose of header is simple. It shows key summaries and gives the users a sense of what is going on. In our customer service dashboard, the header has various key metrics & their trends, as shown below.
Constructing the spark-line for trend
The trend of calls for “All” and 2 selected options is shown as sparklines. Sparklines, a new feature introduced in Excel 2010 is very handy and easy to use. All you had to is select the 28 day call volume figures for ALL & 2 selected options and then go to Insert > Sparkline. Select the line sparkline & bingo, the sparklines are added to your workbook. Just cut them and paste them on the dashboard sheet.
Related: Learn how to use Excel 2010 Sparklines for dashboards
Constructing the traffic lights for call resolution
This is done with Conditional formatting. Another favorite feature. First we need to decide the traffic light conditions. In our case, I have defined below rules.
Related: Using Conditional Formatting Traffic Lights for your dashboards
Constructing Satisfaction Rating Chart
Distribution of customer satisfaction ratings is shown as a column chart. This is in fact a sparkline. The data for this is in Calcs!L42:N46. This is calculated using beloved SUMPRODUCT as shown in 2nd installment.
To insert the chart, just select L42:N46 in Calcs sheet and click on Insert > Sparklines (Column) chart. Move the chart to Dashboard sheet.
Related: Learn how to use Excel 2010 Sparklines for dashboards
Deconstructing the Dynamic Comparison Chart
The heart of this dashboard is dynamic chart at bottom. It has a lot going on,
- You can change the 4 week period for this chart
- You can select how you want to compare
- You can select which 2 options you want to compare
- You can tell what type of chart to show – (call volume, talk time, resolution rate, satisfaction rating & upsell $s)
To explain the dynamism of this chart, I have made a brief video. Please watch it first.
[Watch the video on our Youtube Channel]
So how this chart is made?
Even though we see dynamic chart in our dashboard, it is actually a picture link. This is how the chart works:
- From the calculations we have learned in 2nd part, you know that we constructed 28 day information for all 5 charts.
- Select each of these 5 types of info & create charts.
- We will end up with 5 charts. Place them neatly in empty cells.
- Next, define a named range
selChart, that returns one of these 5 cell ranges based on which chart user wants. - The definition for selChart is, =CHOOSE(valChartToDisplay, calcs!$C$73:$H$81, calcs!$C$84:$H$92, calcs!$C$95:$H$103, calcs!$C$114:$H$122, calcs!$C$125:$H$133)
I am sure you can figure out the rest of the details. See this illustration to understand how this chart is made.
Download Customer Service Dashboard
Excel 2010 version: Click here to download the dashboard workbook
Excel 2007 version: Click here to download the dashboard workbook
Examine the charts to learn better. Change the drop-downs, date values in dashboard sheet to see how the formulas work.
What next? – Adding final touches to the dashboard
So far, we have learned about the design of this dashboard, calculations behind it & how the charts are put together.
In the final installment, learn about the remaining pieces of the puzzle – VBA code, design tricks & future direction of the dashboard.
What charts you would put in this dashboard?
I liked the challenge of creating one dynamic chart that can show any data & analysis based on user’s wants. But I am sure there are more interesting ways to display call center data. So go ahead and tell me what charts you would include in a customer service dashboard. Bonus points if you can make the dashboard and share it with us. Go ahead and share your thoughts using comments.
Learn more about Dashboards
If you are looking for examples, information & tutorials on Excel dashboards, you are at the best. At Chandoo.org we have elaborate examples, tutorials, training programs & templates on Excel dashboards, to make you awesome. Please go thru below to learn more:
- Customer Service Dashboard Example
- KPI Dashboards in Excel – 6 part tutorial
- Excel Dashboards – Information, Examples, Templates & Tutorials
- Excel Dynamic Charts – Examples, tutorials & inspiration
- Excel School Dashboards Program – Learn how to create this and other dashboards in Excel
13 Responses to “Gantt Box Chart Tutorial & Template – Download and Try today”
Hi Chandoo
As one of your students I have followed your detailed example through with great success. However, Excel is acting in an unexpected way and I wonder if you could take a look?
http://cid-95d070c79aef808e.office.live.com/self.aspx/.Public/Gantt%20Box%20Chart.xlsm
On my version, I have to type 40239 (Which equates to 2 Mar 2010) to get the chart to display 31 May 2010 (which should be 40329)!!??
Have I done something wrong or is Excel acting up?
Thx
Oli
PS Your example file in 2007 displays correctly.
Hi,
I like this idea a lot, but I agree the name is a little drab.
As an American I may just be seeing things, but to me the combination of lines and bars on your chart looks like a bunch of cricket bats.
Maybe you could work that into a catchier name. 🙂
Cheers!
Here is some code I use to keep the axis synched.
It may be useful to some of your readers
It is based on a comment I saw on Daily Dose of Excel.
Function SynchGanttAxis(Cname, lower, upper)
'Sets the X min and X max for Category axis
Application.Volatile
On Error Resume Next
'
'Top Horizontal Axis
With ActiveSheet.Shapes(Cname).Chart.Axes(xlCategory, 1)
.MinimumScale = lower
.MaximumScale = upper
End With
'Bottom Horizontal Axis
With ActiveSheet.Shapes(Cname).Chart.Axes(xlValue, 2)
.MinimumScale = lower
.MaximumScale = upper
End With
End Function
Function SynchVerticalAxis(Cname, lower, upper)
Application.Volatile
On Error Resume Next
' Excel 2007 only
'Right hand vertical axis
With ActiveSheet.Shapes(Cname).Chart.Axes(xlValue, 1)
.MinimumScale = 0
.MaximumScale = upper
End With
End Function
@Oli.. Can you check your file again.. I see 40329...
@Dave: Even I saw things.. the bars actually looked like lollipops. How about calling this lollipop chart - now that would be yummy and goes along the tradition of naming charts after eatables (bar, pie, donut...)
@Bob: Superb stuff... thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Chandoo
This looks really good and I think it can also be applied to show project phases / milestones.
Question: Thinking further could this be amended to display a project lifecycle (Idea through to Implementation say 7 phases) on one bar / row? Just imagine 20 projects within a programme all on one chart one bar each showing their respective lifecycle stages i.e. on one page.
Idea: As the Gantt Box Chart this is quite intensive to set up re formatting etc how about the added extra of once you have completed this to "Save as template" i.e. saves the formatting and layout of the chart as a template so you can apply to future charts. Simple to do and will save the time formatting etc again and again and again.
Therefore tip: Click on your chart demo and then click on Save As template icon (2007) - edit file name and click on save. Ready to use / apply via Templates in Change Chart Type window.
Thanks and be very interested if the lifecycle question can be resolved
Mike
How embarrassing.
I was obviously suffering from numerical dyslexia. I was one of those days.
@Mike H: You can easily make this chart to work like a generic project lifecycle plan chart. All you have to do is,
1. in a separate sheet define the steps of lifecycle and various dates in a table (with 5 columns for each of the projects you have).
2. now use a control cell to input the project name you want to show in the chart
3. based on the input, use OFFSET Formulas to get the correct data
4. Rest is same as the tutorial above
For more info on the dynamic charting visit http://chandoo.org/wp/tag/dynamic-charts/ and http://chandoo.org/wp?s=OFFSET
Your solution is really smart but in the en Excel isn't meant to do stuff like this. I, as a former PM, always thought is was frustrating that you had to do stuff like this for something simple like a Gantt chart. So I built Tom's Planner. And would like to plug it here. I think it really solves the problem you are trying to solve in the most efficient way. Check out http://www.tomsplanner.com for a free account or play around with the demo.
Hi there,
Chandoo - this is really a very nice and helpfull chart - I adopted it, so I can report a forecast or the delay of a certain task (coming from my role as an auditor for projects).
One topic I´m currently struggeling with: I do have a project lasting for lets say 12 month. For a management reporting, I want to have kind of snapshot, lets say one month back and 2 month in the future. I tried with the offset formula, but failed. Any idea?
Thx
Lopi
[...] Ein viel geliebter Klassiker ist die Erstellung von GANTT-Diagrammen mit Excel. Wir hatten das Thema wiederholt schon hier. Chandoo.org hat sich mal wieder mit einer neuen Variante hervorgetan: Das GANTT-Box-Chart. [...]
[...] [...]
Hi Chandoo - fantastic xls. One thing I can't figure out how to do is adjust the alignment of the vertical axis. I would like to left align so that I could indent to represent sub tasks. Can that be done? Or is there a better way?
I've been trying to work out if there's a way to show weekends on the graph. The closest thing I've got is to add them on a secondary axis, but then I haven't been able to keep both axis lined up together! Any ideas?
Following on from this - is it possible to show things like holidays?