Make Your Data Speak: Creating Actionable Data Through Excel for Non-Technical Professionals

ISBN-13: 9781484289419 / Angielski / Miękka / 2023 / 261 str.

Alex Kolokolov

Opis

Gather and analyze data successfully, identify trends, and then create overarching strategies and actionable next steps - all through Excel. This book will show even those who lack a technical background how to make advanced interactive reports with only Excel at hand. Advanced visualization is available to everyone, and this step-by-step guide will show you how.

The information in this book is presented in an accessible and understandable way for everyone, regardless of the level of technical skills and proficiency in MS Excel. The dashboard development process is given in the format of step-by-step instructions, taking you through each step in detail. Universal checklists and recommendations of a practicing business analyst and trainer will help in solving various tasks when working with data visualization. Illustrations will help you perceive information easily and quickly. Make Your Data Speak will show you how to master the main rules, techniques and tricks of professional data visualization in just a few days.
What You'll Learn

• See how interactive dashboards can be useful for a business
• Review basic rules for building dashboards
• Understand why it's important to pay attention to colors and fonts when developing a dashboard
• Create interactive management reports in Excel 

Who This Book is ForCompany executives and divisional managers, Middle managers, business analysts

Spis treści

Introduction. Three stories that made me write this book

Chapter 1. Data preparation

1.1 Analyzing and transforming the original data

1.2 Preparing the basis for a dashboard

1.3 Making data samples for visualizations

1.4. Setting up an interactivity

1.5. Summary and conclusions of the chapter, quick tricks 

Chapter 2. Dashboard assembling

2.1 Assembling a dashboard according to the layout

2.2 Creating KPI cards

2.3 Aligning a dashboard, adding a header

2.4 Summary and conclusions of the chapter, quick tricks

Chapter 3. Anatomy of diagrams

3.1 Analyzing ready-made design styles

3.2 Setting up data labels

3.3 Working with the text: remove the excess, add the necessary

3.4 Designing bar charts

3.5 Setting up the chart template

3.6 Summary and conclusions of the chapter, quick tricks

Chapter 4. Final dashboard design

4.1 Aligning the headers to the grid

4.2 Creating new cards on the top of the cells

4.3 Making interactive slicers

4.4 Working with Excel colors and fonts

4.5 Improving standard Excel themes

4.6. Summary and conclusions of the chapter, quick tricks

Chapter 5. Corporate identity

5.1 Creating a theme in accordance with the brandbook

5.2 Adapting the theme according to the checklist

5.3 Creating a dashboard in a dark theme

5.4 Summary and conclusions of the chapter, quick tricks

Chapter 6. Data visualization rules

6.1 Types of data analysis

6.2 How to choose charts

6.3 Life hacks for multiple data series

6.4 When you need everything at once

6.5 Funnel and waterfall

6.6 Summary and conclusions of the chapter, quick tricks

Conclusion

O autorze

Alex Kolokolov is an expert in the Business Intelligence systems implementation and the development of information panels for managers – dashboards. He is the CEO and founder of the Institute of Business Intelligence, a consulting company specializing in building corporate reporting systems. Author of the training "Make your Data Speak". 

Over 12 years of practice, Alex Kolokolov has set up hundreds of management reports in production, banks and trading companies, he‘s worked with software from Microsoft, Qlik, Tableau, IBM. Based on this experience he described universal rules for visualization and working with the requirements of business customers.

Blurb

Gather and analyze data successfully, identify trends, and then create overarching strategies and actionable next steps - all through Excel. This book will show even those who lack a technical background how to make advanced interactive reports with only Excel at hand. Advanced visualization is available to everyone, and this step-by-step guide will show you how.

The information in this book is presented in an accessible and understandable way for everyone, regardless of the level of technical skills and proficiency in MS Excel. The dashboard development process is given in the format of step-by-step instructions, taking you through each step in detail. Universal checklists and recommendations of a practicing business analyst and trainer will help in solving various tasks when working with data visualization. Illustrations will help you perceive information easily and quickly. 

Make Your Data Speak will show you how to master the main rules, techniques and tricks of professional data visualization in just a few days.

You will:

• See how interactive dashboards can be useful for a business
• Review basic rules for building dashboards
• Understand why it's important to pay attention to colors and fonts when developing a dashboard
• Create interactive management reports in Excel