All articles with 'dashboards' Tag

Ok people. Let me tell you that this post is almost not about Excel. It is about how one Excel blogger’s (yours truly) dream of long distance cycling came true. So sit back, grab your favorite drink and read between sips.

So what is this all about?

Last Sunday (27th July) & Monday (28th), I finished my first ever 200KM bicycle ride. I rode for a little more than 12 hours, burned 5,179 calories & rode 206 kilometers.

It is definitely one of the most memorable, tiresome & uplifting experiences in my life. So naturally, I want to share the story with you.

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In the 14th session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets figure out how to make awesome dashboards.

What is in this session?

Excel based dashboards are much in demand these days, thanks to advancements in Excel & growing pressure on costs. Now a days, analysts & managers are expected to quickly put together a dashboard using Excel. But how do you make a dashboard? What process you should follow? These are the questions we address in this podcast.

In this podcast, you will learn,

• Announcements about upcoming dashboard classes
• Ten step process for creating awesome dashboards
• 1. Talk to your end users
• 2. Make a sketch of the dashboard
• 3. Validate your understanding
• 4. Collect data
• 5. Structure the data
• …

If you listen carefully, you can hear my screams of joy. I have 2 very happy news to share with you.

1. I am speaking at Excelapalooza Excel conference, happening at Dallas (Texas) between September 21 to 24.
2. I will be conducting an Advanced Excel, Dashboards & Power Pivot masterclass at Houston (Texas) between September 15 to 18.

Finally the wait is over. Here are the winners of our 2014 dashboard contest. Check them out.

Recently we asked you, what do you struggle doing in Excel? 170 people responded to this survey and shared their struggles. In this post, lets examine the top 10 struggles according to you and awesome remedies for them.

Hello everyone. Stop reading further and go fetch your helmet. Because what lies ahead is mind-blowingly awesome.

About a month and half ago, we held our annual dashboard contest. This time the theme is to visualize state to state migration in USA. You can find the contest data-set & details here.

We received 49 outstanding entries for this. Most of the entries are truly inspiring. They are loaded with powerful analysis, stunning visualizations, amazing display of Excel skill and design finesse. It took me almost 2 weeks to process the results and present them here.

Click on the image to see the entries.

Hello friends,

First a quick update about state migration visualization contest.

We got more than 50 wonderful entries for this contest. I have compiled 50% of the entries. Due to personal reasons (its annual vacation time at our household), I had to delay the rest and resume it after first week of June. So the results will be announced in 2nd week of June. Thanks for understanding and your patience. Watch this space for mind-boggling dashboards in 3 more weeks.

Click “Read more” to get a sneak-peek at 3 random entries & 4 useful Excel links.

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In the 6th session of Chandoo.org podcast, we focus on making you a better analyst and propose a road map for getting better at data analysis & improving your career prospects.

In this podcast you will learn,

• Why become a better analyst?
• The road map for becoming a better analyst – BETTER framework
• B for Business Knowledge
• E for Examining user needs
• T for Thinking about analysis
• T for Tools of Trade ie Excel
• E for Expression
• R for Refining yourself
• Conclusions

Time for another dashboard contest. Sit straight, set aside your appointments and get number-crunching.

Analyze state to state migration data between 2012 & 2010 and present your results in a dashboard (or charts) and you could walk away with glory, fame & and an iPad.

If all of this sounds tempting, read on.

The contest

1. Download dataset for the contest [mirror]
2. Analyze the data and create a dashboard or set of charts (see rules below)
3. Submit your workbook by 20th of April (Sunday), 2014.
4. If readers at chandoo.org and our panel of judges love your work, you get one of the cool prizes.

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In the third session of Chandoo.org podcast, we are going to get BI curious. 😉

Not that kind you silly, We are talking about Business Intelligence, Big Data, Power Pivot & other Power BI family members. In this session, I am happy to feature Mike Alexander – Microsoft MVP, Author, Blogger & a good friend. Mike talks about how Excel is shaping the BI (Business Intelligence) revolution with advent of Power BI functionality.

You will learn,

• Introduction, what Mike is up to these days?
• What is BI, what does it mean to an average Excel analyst?
• What BI capabilities Excel has – brief intro to each of them
  • Power Pivot & what it does
  • Power Query & why it is important
  • Power View & how it works (and where it sucks)
  • Power Maps
• How to learn about these new technologies
  • Recommended Books
  • Websites
  • Courses
  • Live classes
• Special gift for our listeners

Today lets talk about how to build world-class dashboards.

What is a dashboard?

Dashboard reports allow managers to get high-level overview of the business and help them make quick decisions. A dashboard is usually a one page report that contains critical information for decision support.

How to make dashboards?

Excel is an excellent tool to make powerful dashboards that can provide analysis, insight and alert managers in timely manner. But creating a dashboard takes a lot of skill & practice. That is where a resource like Chandoo.org comes handy. In this site you can find more than 200 different dashboard examples, tutorials, samples and downloads – all designed to make you awesome.

Read on to learn more…

Today lets talk about Excel books. The question is simple.

What is your favorite Excel book? Please share your answers using comments.

My favorite books are..,

Sometime during the 2nd half of 2013, I finished 10 years of Excel usage. In the last 10 years, I completed my studies, got my first job, married, had kids, visited 15 different countries, quit my job to start a business, bought first car, first house, made dozens of new friends, read 100s of books, wrote a book and learned 1000s of new things. And all along, Excel stayed a true companion. Right from MBA entrance exam preparation in 2003 to making my summer internship project reports in 2005 to planning my wedding expenses in 2007 to getting a promotion in 2009 to planning my kids feeding schedule in 2010 to running a successful business in 2014, Excel helped me in every step.

So today, I want to tell you the top 10 things I learned using Excel in last decade. Grab a hot cup of coffee, buckle your belts and get ready for time travel.

Lets talk about people who inspire us. People who show us that anything is possible. People who prove that commitment, hard work and perseverance are true ingredients of a genius.

I am talking about Sachin Tendulkar. Those of you who never heard his name, he is the most prolific cricketer in the world. He is the leading scorer in both tests (15,921 runs) and one day matches (18,426 runs). Read more about him here.

Tendulkar has been an inspiration for me (and millions of others around the world) since I was a kid. The amount of dedication & excellence he has shown constantly motivates me. It is a pity that the great man is retiring from test cricket. He is playing his last test match (200th, most by any person) as I am writing this.

So as a small tribute, I have decided do something for him. Of course, I have never been a cricketer in my life. Once in college I was reluctantly asked to be a stand-by player in a game with seniors. I did not get a chance to pad up though. That is the closest I have been to a cricketer. So I did what I do best. Create an Excel workbook celebrating Sachin’s test career.

Thank you Sachin – his test career in a dashboard

Here is a dashboard I made visualizing his test cricket statistics. It is dynamic, fun & awesome (just like Sachin).

(click on the image to enlarge)

Today lets close some gaps.

Recently I saw this interesting chart on Economist Daily Charts page. This chart is based on World Economic Forum’s survey on how women compare to men in terms of various development parameters. First take a look at the chart prepared by Economist team.

So what are the gaps in this chart?

This chart fails to communicate because,

• All country charts look same, thus making it difficult to spot any deviations.
• We cannot quickly compare one country with another on any particular indicator.
• It does not provide a better context (for eg. how did these countries perform last year?)

But criticizing someone’s work is not awesome. Fixing it and making an even better chart, that has awesome written all over it. So that is what we are going to do. You can see the improved chart above. Click on it to learn how you can create it.