This is a Guest Post by Robert on Visualization Techniques for KPI Dashboards using Excel.
This 6 Part Tutorial on Management Dashboards Teaches YOU:
Creating a Scrollable List View in Dashboard
Add Ability to Sort on Any KPI to the Dashboard
Highlight KPIs Based on Percentile
Add Microcharts to KPI Dashboards
Compare 2 KPIs in the Dashboards Using Form Controls
Show the Distribution of a KPI using Box Plots
As you all know dashboards provide “Information at a glance” with often the power to “deep dive to analyze”. Most dashboards succeed in providing information. But the exceptional ones succeed in “at a glance” part of it while maintaining the deep diving capabilities. In this and next post we will discuss 2 powerful visualizations that can be added to your dashboards to provide better insights at a glance. If you are not familiar with excel based dashboards we recommend reading the dashboards using excel.
The challenge
Part 3 of the series already displays parts of the relationships within the 5 KPI data sets by highlighting the 10% best and 10% poorest performers of the 4 KPI that are not selected as the sort criteria. But what if we want to have a closer look on how the KPI are related to each other? We need another analytical feature that enables the user to compare the complete data sets at a glance in a graphical visualization.
The solution
An XY scatter chart is the best way to analyze and visualize the relationship and correlation between two sets of quantitative data.
An XY scatter chart, however, is 2-dimensional and therefore limited to compare only two data sets.
Since we have 5 different KPI, we would need 10 different charts to display all possible combinations of KPI pairs on our dashboard. This would need too much real estate on the dashboard and it would probably be too complex and unclear for the users of the dashboard.
Again we need an interactive, flexible way to display the data in one single chart and let the user decide which 2 KPI to display (see above). Additionally we want to highlight the data points that are displayed on the dashboard table and of course we want to do this without VBA.
The implementation
Download Excel Dashboard Visualization Techniques [part 1] workbook and read on how this is implemented.
- Create an input list form control with the names of the 5 KPI (calculation!E10:E14)
- Define two cells to store the results of the combo boxes to select the displayed KPI (calculation!E16:E17)
- Insert two combo boxes (from the forms control toolbar) on the dashboard and link the input lists and the cell links accordingly.
Add 4 extra columns (calculation!AS:AT and calculation!AV:AW) and create OFFSET formulas to fill these new cell ranges with the values of the selected KPI (i.e. using the values in calculation!E16:E17, see 2.).- Create an XY scatter chart with two data series (data source: the 4 new cell ranges, see 4.). Format the first series as circles without fill colors and the second series as circles with a grey fill color, add a legend to the chart and bring the chart to the dashboard.
- Reposition the chart on the dashboard (remember this trick: keeping the ALT-key pressed during resizing and repositioning makes the chart auto-fit to the cell grid underneath) and position the combo boxes.
- If you want to, you could easily add a trend line to the chart and display the equation and/or the R-squared value for deeper analysis of the correlation between the two KPIs.
Add 4 extra columns (calculation!AS:AT and calculation!AV:AW) and create OFFSET formulas to fill these new cell ranges with the values of the selected KPI (i.e. using the values in calculation!E16:E17, see 2.).That’s it. Play around with the new analytical feature: change the selected two KPIs, change the sort criteria, toggle the sort order or scroll up and down the dashboard table and watch the changes on the XY scatter chart.
What’s next? – Last Part of the KPI Dashboards using Excel
Make sure you have downloaded the Excel Dashboard Visualization Techniques [part 1] workbook
Go to next post: Part 6: Show the Distribution of a KPI using Box Plots
Also, Checkout our Excel Dashboards Page for more examples and resources.
Chandoo’s note: Thanks Robert for another excellent post.
Please leave your comments, questions and love here, Robert is a regular reader of this blog he will be happy to respond to you as early as possible.
22 Responses to “Formula Forensic No 019. Converting uneven Text Strings to Time”
Why not let the TIME function take care of the math:
=TIME(LEFT(TEXT(A1,"000000"),2),MID(TEXT(A1,"000000"),3,2),RIGHT(TEXT(A1,"000000"),2))
I was going to point out the same thing, except to note that useing the time function and doing the divide method are not interchangeable.
I have spent hours investigating a spreadsheet working with a couple of years worth of hourly data, and found that the reason things weren't working is because the rounding on the divide method is only close to the correct time values. In order to have it work for comparisons, (like sub-totaling by time value, or pivoting) you MUST use the TIME function.
Great use of the TEXT function, Hui. I will be using this concept for sure.
Why not just.
=TEXT(A1,"00\:00\:00")*1
Regards
Elegant!
Hi Elias,
I tried to use your formula. But, it doesn't seem to work for me. I am getting an error message "The formula you typed contains an error". It seems I have the problem in using \: in the format. How can I overcome this?
Thanks
Manick, it isn't the /: that causes the problem. If you copy/paste it, you're getting “'s instead of the actual quotation marks that Excel uses. Change the quotation marks by deleting from the pasted formula and retype them.
Hi Manick...
use this alternate formula :
=1*TEXT(A1,"00"":""00"":""00")
note twice double quote each side of :
@Manick,
Did you copy the formula and pasted in Excel or did you typed? Also, do you use , or ; as separator of arguments?
Regards
@Elias: I had no problem using your formula, in fact, I have used your method to convert a number such as 20120419 to an Excel date using =TEXT(A1,"0000\/00\/00")*1. Thanks for posting.
@Joe: For date convertion you can use this as well.
=TEXT(A1,"00-00-00")*1
Regards
Sweet! It appears this also works with =TEXT(A1,"0-00-00")*1. I come from the old days when you counted every byte. I also like to try an make formulas as small as possible for the fun of it 🙂
Elias's suggestion is the simplest, but here is yet another way with TIME and MOD functions...
=TIME(MOD(A2/10000,100),MOD(A2/100,100),MOD(A2,100))
Since the seconds appear to always be 0, why not simply the input to minutes and above and save yourself the trouble of typing those zeroes...
0 => 0:00
1 => 1:00
10 => 10:00
100 => 1:00:00
etc.
Then just use this formula...
=TEXT(A1,"0\:00\:")*1
@ Rick, the numbers to convert are no typed, they are imported. Then your formula will return the wrong result.
Regards.
Hmm! My formula lost some backslash-zero combinations (two of them to be exact). The formula was supposed to be this...
=TEXT(A1,"0\:00\:\zero\zero")*1
where the words "zero" should actually be the number 0. Another way to write the formula is this...
=TEXT(A1,"0\:00\:""00""")*1
Hi Master,
While writing the formulae you have considered only upto "seconds factor" . I think you should take the centi-seconds factor also to achieve best results. Please look into it and rectify the problem...?
For Example.
In horse racing timings are noted in minute, seconds and centi-seconds, like if a horse finished in 70 seconds over a scurry of 1200 metres, is noted as 1.10 min. Nowadays it is noted in centi-seconds everywhere, like 70.00 if you want to convert it to centi seconds (should multiply by 100) = 7000 centi seconds. If you put this figure into your formula as a general number (7000) it will return as 1:10:00. As per your formula, it should be taken as 1 hour 10 seconds 0 minutes. However for a racing enthusiast like me it can be taken as 1 minute 10 seconds also.
Just look what happens if we race goers use this figure as 7000 centi seconds in your formulae, it will correctly show as 1 minute 10 seconds(?) Suppose a horse finishing over a 1200m in 70.60 seconds or in racing terms written as 1.10.60 mins, where 1 minute 10 seconds, & 60 centi-seconds can be counted as 7060, if you put this figure in the formula it will return as 1 minute 11 seconds, that is correct.
My point is if you can incorporate Centi Seconds in the formulae, it would be of great help to us also.
Thanks and regards.
Rajagopal (Mumbai)
Awesome techniques !
I tried with 235960 just to see if it will fail but this is great.
Although a little longer, this too work:
=CHOOSE(LEN(A2);A2/(24*3600);A2/(24*3600);LEFT(A2;1)/(24*60) + RIGHT(A2;2)/(24*3600);LEFT(A2;2)/(24*60) + RIGHT(A2;2)/(24*3600);LEFT(A2;1)/24 + MID(A2;2;2)/(24*60) + RIGHT(A2;2)/(24*3600);LEFT(A2;2)/24 + MID(A2;3;2)/(24*60) + RIGHT(A2;2)/(24*3600))
Converting uneven Text Strings to Time I have imported some data that comes in as a number that I need to convert to h:mm.
Just come across this while googling
find interesting challenge and come up with this
=TEXT(TEXT(SUBSTITUTE(A1,RIGHT(A1,1),""),"000000"),"00\:00\:00")
I need to convert a string of numbers representing average minutes, to reflect correct time values. For example, the numbers below currently represent 5.79 minutes, 15.82 minutes, etc.
I need to convert these values to their correct corresponding value within time parameters. So 5.79 would be something close to 5 minutes and 45 seconds.
5.79
15.82
3.92
12.40
6.70
3.62
I know there has to be a way to compute this in Excel, it can do anything, I believe!
Thank you for any and all assistance~
@Renee... You can use a formula like this. Assuming A1 has the minutes.seconds,
=INT(A1) + MOD(A1, 1)*0.6
If you want to see it in 5 minutes 45 seconds format, use
=INT(A1) & " mins " & ROUND(MOD(A1, 1)*0.6,2) & " secs"