This is a 6 part tutorial on project management using microsoft excel. These posts represent few of the things related to project management using excel that I have learned over the years. The first installment deals with Preparing & tracking a project plan using Gantt Charts in MS Excel.

The other parts I am planning are, Day to day operations – using to do lists, Preparing a project time line, Time sheets and Resource management, Tracking issues and risks, Project Status Reporting – Dashboard.

Read the first part of the article to learn how to make excel gantt charts / project plans.

Most of us think of mastering formulas, learning macros and being supergood with charts when we think of being productive with spreadsheets. But often learning simple stuff like keyboard shortcuts, using mouse and working with menus and ribbons can be a huge productivity booster for us. So as part of this installment of spreadcheats we [...]

Here is a very quick tip if you ever want to hide a cell’s contents in excel

Just use the custom cell formatting (more here) code ;;;

Ok, so you have that neat little excel report ready and now you want to share it with your boss or client in a PDF format. So how would you do that? Your best option is …

Here is a really fun and simple way to create dynamic charts in Excel. It uses data filters in an innovative way and creates the dynamic effect. To create the dynamic charts, just follow these 5 steps:

(1) Prepare your charts: Make as many charts as you want. Lets say 3.
(2) Set up the area where dynamic charts will be loaded: Just take 3 cells in a row and adjust the row height and column width such that the charts can be fit inside snugly. Also, type the chart names (1 for each cell) in the cell. Let us say, the charts you have are for Costs, Sales and Profits, just type these names in the cells.
Read more…

Here is a fun, simple and different alternative to traditional dashboards. Introducing…. tweetboards.

In this installment of spreadcheats we will learn how to understand excel formula errors and fix them. The #DIV/0!, #NAME?, #N/A, #NULL!, #NUM!, #REF!, #VALUE! errors and how to fix them.