Summarizing Microsoft Office Excel 2003 Data To Make Better Business Decisions

Introduction

One of the great challenges business people face today is not collecting information, but making sense of the information they already have. Within the endless rows of Microsoft Excel data is information that can help you make better business decisions, but how can you filter you way through all that information? This course, through hands-on activities, will teach you some of the most effective techniques in data summary and display. It covers the role of business intelligence in today's workplace and introduces the power of Excel in business intelligence analysis. Students also learn how to hone their skills regarding data lists and

PivotTables.

Audience

This course is designed for experienced Excel users who have a vested interest in analyzing

Excel data more effectively. This audience is familiar with tracking project budgets and chart trends, and they have no difficulty using Excel to create formulas, charts, and cell formats.

At Course Completion

After completing this course, students will be able to:

· Describe the role business intelligence plays in organizational planning and explain how to extend business intelligence analysis beyond the spreadsheet.

· Use data lists and

SUBTOTAL formulas to summarize their Excel data.

· Create and use

PivotTables to visualize worksheet data.

· Limit the data displayed in a PivotTable to only the data needed to make a specific decision.

Prerequisites

Before attending this course, students must have:

· Experience with analyzing business data to make decisions about products, projects, and strategic direction.

· The ability to create formulas, including advanced formulas using the Insert Function dialog box.

· The ability to create line graphs and column charts from Excel data.

Course Outline

Module 1: Deriving

Business Intelligence from Excel Data

This module introduces the process of deriving business intelligence from spreadsheet data both in general, as presented in the course lecture segments, and in the context of your business environment.

Topics and Activities

· What Is Business

Intelligence?

· The Need for Business

Intelligence

· Discussion: The Need for

Business Intelligence

· Summary of Discovering

Business Intelligence in Excel

After completing this module, students will be able to:

· Describe the business intelligence process.

· List the needs for business intelligence.

· Explain how to extend business intelligence analysis beyond the spreadsheet.

· Summarize business intelligence analysis in Excel.

Module 2: Summarizing

Data Using Lists

This module introduces data lists and SUBTOTAL formulas, which you can use to produce meaningful subsets of your Excel data. The exercises in this module ask you to analyze sample data in terms of sample files for a fictitious company.

Topics and Activities

· Demonstration: Revealing

Information in Data Lists

· Walkthrough 1: Creating a

Data List

· Walkthrough 2: Creating a

Crosstab Table

· Walkthrough 3: Creating a

SUBTOTAL Formula

· Walkthrough 4: Filtering a Data List

· Tips and Tricks for Using

Data Lists and SUBTOTAL Formulas

After completing this module, students will be able to:

· Create a data list.

· Filter data lists.

· Add a Total row to a data list.

· Summarize data using

SUBTOTAL formulas.

Module 3: Creating a PivotTable

This module introduces

PivotTables and shows you how to create them. The information in this module also places PivotTables in the context of analyzing product sales by a store or a product.

Topics and Activities

· The Power of PivotTables

· Demonstration: Exploring the Capabilities of PivotTables

· Walkthrough 1: Creating a PivotTable

· Walkthrough 2: Pivoting a PivotTable

· Walkthrough 3: Adding

Fields to and Removing Fields from the PivotTable

· Using PivotTables to

Reveal Business Intelligence

After completing this module, students will be able to:

· Describe PivotTable views.

· Create a PivotTable.

· Pivot a PivotTable.

· Add fields to and remove fields from a PivotTable.

Module 4: Fine-Tuning

PivotTables

This module extends your knowledge of PivotTables by showing you how to limit the data shown in your

PivotTable. You will also learn how to make your data easier to comprehend by formatting your PivotTable, adding or hiding summary rows and columns, and creating dynamic charts based on your data.

Topics and Activities

· Demonstration: Filtering

Data in PivotTables

· Exercise 1: Filtering a PivotTable

· Walkthrough 1: Filtering a PivotTable by Using Page Fields

· Walkthrough 2: Formatting a PivotTable

· Walkthrough 3: Creating a PivotChart

· Revealing Business

Intelligence by Using Excel

· Discussion: Taking

Business Intelligence Outside the Workbook

After completing this module, students will be able to:

· Filter a PivotTable.

· Filter a PivotTable using

Page fields.

· Apply an AutoFormat to a

PivotTable.

· Create a PivotChart.

About the Author

Curtis D. Frye is the author of numerous books on Excel, most notably Microsoft Office Excel 2003

Step By Step, a best-selling book from Microsoft Press. Through his company, Technology and Society, Incorporated, Curt consults for clients in the publishing and entertainment industries