Dashboards and other multi-chart displays
This post on how to make Excel dashboards was one of the first I published here, and it still is one of the most popular posts. But I actually prefer broader data visualization discussions than Excel tips & tricks. Excel dashboards, although something that interests me, was never a priority. Until now. I just launched an ebook on Effective … Read more
People keep asking what the difference is between data visualization and infographics. Since I’m not completely satisfied with the available answers I thought I could return to the subject and write my own. First, you have to recognize that you can’t compare them because they are not at the same level. Things get much simpler if … Read more
I’m sure you’re familiar with the Walmart growth map. A basic visualization looks like this: Obviously this has a lot of potential for a more design-oriented approach, and there are many examples online. Here is the map created by Nathan Yau at FlowingData: I wanted to play with the data too, but from an Excel … Read more
You are not happy at work. I can clearly see that. Morale is low due to the economy, but it’s something else, isn’t it? You feel handcuffed. You keep hitting a wall. It hurts, hitting a wall while handcuffed… You work with data. There is a formal BI tool in your organization, but it is … Read more
You know that you should avoid the Crystal Xcelsius dashboard style, but now what? Where do you place your charts, kpi, tables? Here is a trick that you can use: write a sentence or a paragraph that summarizes the core message. For example “Our sales are growing in an expanding market, and we are gaining … Read more
Dmitry asks: I face an issue that has nothing to do with Excel itself: human resistance. I showed a dashboard to my manager and he answered to me that my dashboard is too difficult for him and for top management and insisted to use simple XL-tables with lots of data. I’m a bit confused, why … Read more
Do you want to know how to create an advanced Excel dashboard? Do you want to learn it online? Then I have great news for you: I’ve been working on a web-based version of my Excel dashboard tutorial and it will be available soon. Better yet, it will be available for free for all current … Read more
Some years ago, as part of my (then) new job, I had to maintain a monthly updated Excel dashboard. It was a maintenance hell, I hated it, but I couldn’t change it because of my poor Excel skills. “This is stupid, there must be a better way”, I kept saying to myself. So, I searched, … Read more
I am a moderately advanced Excel user. This means “a dangerous person” for the IT department, but I like this daily fight, and Excel dashboards are among my preferred weapons. Let’s see how they can be used. Excel is the best tool for executive dashboard prototyping, because of its flexibility and development costs. Creating a fully … Read more
I am sure Albert Einstein was thinking of Excel dashboards when he said “everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler”. Let me tell you why. Demographic Dashboard: The VBA edition I published some time ago a first version of my Demographic Dashboard to show how an average Excel user could design … Read more