This document provides an overview of Excel training for effective data analysis and visualization. The training covers topics like table formatting, sorting and filtering data, text to columns, heatmaps, sparklines, and conditional formatting. These skills allow users to clean, visualize and interact with data in Excel worksheets for analysis. The document includes examples and practices for applying various formatting, analysis and visualization techniques in Excel.

1. Excel Training for effective
data analysis and visualisation
Joern Steinz / SkillDay.de

2. Training
Content
2
SD SkillDay.de
Data
analysis
Func4ons
and
calcula4ons
Data
visualiza4on

3. 1
Table
forma<ng
3
SD SkillDay.de
2
3
Get
a
worksheet
that
is
clean,
visually
appealing,
and
interac7ve.
Do
this
with
every
data
export
to
Excel!
• Click
in
data
>
select
table
tab
>
open
insert
table
with
or
without
headlines
• Excel
will
auto-­‐detect
the
borders
of
your
table
• Hide
or
delete
columns
you
are
not
going
to
use
(right
click
on
columns)
• Auto
expand
the
column
widths
(double-­‐click
on
any
column
separator)
• Remove
gridlines
(Layout
>
4ck
off
gridlines)
• Freeze
headline
cells
to
enable
scrolling
with
fixed
headlines
(Layout
>
fix
cells)
The
best
benefit
to
forma<ng
your
data
as
a
table,
is
the
mul4plicity
of
sort
and
filter
op7ons
it
offers.

4. Sor4ng
Op4ons
(1/3)
4
SD SkillDay.de
Excel
offers
three
ways
to
sort
your
table
• Click
on
the
triangle
in
the
column’s
heading
you
want
to
sort
the
table
by,
then
choose
your
sort
op4on
at
the
top
of
the
menu.
• Op4ons:
1. Smallest
to
Largest
(or
vice
versa)
2. Colour
(you
need
to
apply
condi4onal
forma<ng
first
to
get
a
colour,
e.g.
format
the
top
10%
with
a
colour)
3. Custom
(if
you
want
to
sort
by
more
than
one
value)

5. Sor4ng
Op4ons
(2/3)
5
SD SkillDay.de
Sort
by
cell
colour
• Get
the
colour
from
Start
>
Condi4onal
Forma<ng
>
Top/Bo[om
Rules
1
2
• Sort
the
column
by
cells
with
a
colour
fill.
In
the
example:
If
you
wanted
the
keywords
with
the
highest
click
rate
to
float
to
the
top
of
the
table,
simply
click
on
the
yellow
bar
under
sort
by
cell
colour.

6. Sor4ng
Op4ons
(3/3)
6
SD SkillDay.de
Custom
sor7ng
enables
you
to
sort
by
more
than
one
value.
Prac4ce:
Sort
first
by
top
10%
click
rate
and
then
by
impressions.
1
2
3
4

7. Filtering
Op4ons
7
SD SkillDay.de
Filter
op7ons
hide
rows
based
on
the
criteria
you
choose.
Prac4ce:
Filter
all
searches
that
contain
the
word
„WordPress“.
• A
great
useful
filter
is
the
text
filter.
It
allows
to
filter
out
all
phrases
in
a
column
that
contain
a
certain
keyword.
• Filters
can
be
released
again
by
clicking
the
clear
filter
in
the
filter
menu.
1
2 3

8. Text
to
columns
8
SD SkillDay.de
Great
tool
to
break
up
data
of
any
type
into
cells,
e.g.
if
you
copy
data
from
a
PDF
file.
• Right
click
on
column
with
data
and
format
data
as
text
• Select
data
>
(shortcut
cmd
+
shif
+
arrow
key
down)
>
go
to
data
>
select
text
to
columns
• In
the
menu
that
opens
select
delimited
(getrennt)
• Next
select
space
as
a
delimiter
for
our
example
• Click
finish
Data
source:
h[p://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/
Nachrichten/Pressemi[eilungen/2014/06/
PKS2013.pdf;jsessionid=C631643A0195F60CDA85223034B0B418.2_cid295?
__blob=publica4onFile

9. 9
SD SkillDay.de
1
2
3
4

10. Heatmaps
10
SD SkillDay.de
Powerful
feature
in
Excel
to
highlight
intensi7es
• Highlight
data
• Go
to
start
>
condi4onal
forma<ng
• Select
colour
scales
Data
source:
h[p://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/
Nachrichten/Pressemi[eilungen/2014/06/
PKS2013.pdf;jsessionid=C631643A0195F60CDA85223034B0B418.2_cid295?
__blob=publica4onFile

11. Sparklines
11
SD SkillDay.de
Use
sparklines
for
quick
trend
analyses
1 • Click
in
cell
where
you
like
the
sparkline
to
appear
• Choose
diagrams
>
sparklines
• Modify
line
strength
(e.g.
1)
• Add
markers
for
high
&
low
points
• Change
marker
colours
to
meet
your
needs
• Drag
down
format
along
all
rows
of
your
table
2

12. Condi4onal
Forma<ng
12
SD SkillDay.de
Effec7ve
tool
to
quickly
highlight
cells
based
on
certain
criteria

13. Condi4onal
Forma<ng
(1/3)
13
SD SkillDay.de
Prac7ce
1:
Show
which
keywords
rank
on
page
1,
2
and
3
on
Google
with
traffic
lights
icons
1
2
3
4

14. Condi4onal
Forma<ng
(2/3)
14
SD SkillDay.de
Prac7ce
1:
Show
which
keywords
rank
on
page
1,
2
and
3
on
Google
with
traffic
lights
icons
1
23

15. Condi4onal
Forma<ng
(3/3)
15
SD SkillDay.de
Prac7ce
1:
Sort
icons
in
order
1
2
3
4 5 6 7

16. Condi4onal
Forma<ng
16
SD SkillDay.de
Prac7ce
2:
Highlight
only
the
cells
with
an
arrow
icon
that
have
a
click
rate
>
20%
and
lower
than
5%
1
2 3

17. Condi4onal
Forma<ng
17
SD SkillDay.de
Prac7ce
3:
Only
highlight
cells
with
more
than
300
impressions
1 2
3
4

18. Pivot
table
18
SD SkillDay.de
Setup
and
grouping
of
dates
to
analyse
massive
sets
of
data
1
3
4
2
What
you
want
to
analyse
Row
data
Column
data
To
group
dates
in
month,
right
click
in
dates,
then
select
grouping
=>
months
Source
of
data:
h[ps://www.anniely4cs.com/blog/excel-­‐4ps/how-­‐to-­‐create-­‐and-­‐customize-­‐pivot-­‐tables-­‐in-­‐excel/

19. VLookup
(SVerweis)
19
SD SkillDay.de
Finds
a
value
in
a
column
to
the
right
of
a
search
criteria,
e.g.
what
is
the
ranking
posi7on
for
the
term
“WordPress
Seminar”?
1.
Create
help
table
2.
Click
in
cell
where
you
like
to
see
the
results
3.
Open
func7on
assistant
4.
Search
for
VLookup
5.
Search
criteria
from
help
table
(1)
6.
Select
the
whole
table
7.
Column
number
where
the
result
will
be
found
8.
Always
enter
“0”
to
get
an
exact
value

20. Coun4f
(Zählenwenn)
20
SD SkillDay.de
Powerful
func7on
to
count
the
frequency
of
a
certain
value.
Prac7ce:
Analyse
survey
results
“how
did
you
like
the
event?”
1.
Click
in
cell
where
the
result
should
appear
2.
Open
func7on
assistant
(func7ons
(formeln)
=>
func7on
assistant
3.
Search
for
coun7f
4.
Select
the
data
range
that
contains
the
desired
values
5.
Enter
cell
that
contains
the
criteria
that
should
be
counted

21. Frequency
(Häufigkeit)
21
SD SkillDay.de
Counts
frequency
of
a
certain
value
up
to
a
BREAK
POINT
(limit).
Prac7ce:
How
many
keywords
rank
on
posi7ons
1-­‐3,
4-­‐7,
8-­‐10?
1.
Define
break
points
2.
Select
cell
for
coun7ng
results
3.
Open
frequency
func7on
in
func7on
assistant
4.
Select
range
in
table
that
contains
search
criteria
5.
Enter
cell
that
contains
break
point
6.
Calculate
values
for
ranges
by
substrac7ng
the
afore
frequency,
e.g.
“range
4-­‐7”
=
131
(180-­‐49)

22. Goal
seek
(Zielwertsuche)
(1/2)
22
SD SkillDay.de
Useful
func7on
to
calculate
a
required
value
to
meet
a
certain
goal.
Prac7ce:
What
quan7ty
must
be
sold
in
March
to
hit
our
Q1
target?
1.
Create
the
sum
product
of
the
current
revenues
2.
Go
to
data
and
select
what-­‐if-­‐analysis
3.
Choose
the
goal
seek
func7on

23. Goal
seek
(Zielwertsuche)
(2/2)
23
SD SkillDay.de
4.
The
cell
that
contains
the
formula
(here
the
sum
product
func7on)
6.
Enter
variable
cell
(the
value
we
are
looking
for)
5.
Enter
target
value
Useful
func7on
to
calculate
a
required
value
to
meet
a
certain
goal.
Prac7ce:
What
quan7ty
must
be
sold
in
March
to
hit
our
Q1
target?

24. Data
table
(break-­‐even-­‐analysis)
(1/2)
24
SD SkillDay.de
What-­‐if-­‐analysis
to
show
results
for
many
scenario
at
once.
Prac7ce:
Find
break
even
points
for
price
/
quan7ty
combina7ons.
1.
Set
up
profit
equia7on
2.
Create
a
table
with
all
possible
combina7ons
of
price
and
quan7y
3.
Enter
profit
equia7on
and
highlight
the
en7re
table
4.
Go
to
Data
=>
Pivot
Table
=>
Data
Table
5.
Enter
cell
for
row
(click
on
cell
that
contains
the
price
in
our
example)
6.
Enter
cell
for
column
(quan7ty)

25. Data
table
(break-­‐even-­‐analysis)
(2/2)
25
SD SkillDay.de
What-­‐if-­‐analysis
to
show
results
for
many
scenario
at
once.
Prac7ce:
Find
break
even
points
for
price
/
quan7ty
combina7ons.
Apply
condi7onal
formalng
to
results
(colour
scales)
and
set
yellow
value
to
0

26. Make
a
trend
stand
out
26
SD SkillDay.de
Deconstruct
Excel´s
standard
charts,
isolate
data,
reconstruct
with
what
you
need
for
your
message,
use
colour
strategically
Source:
Data
from
the
blog
“Storytelling
with
data”,
Cole
Nussbaumer

27. How
to
build
a
waterfall
chart
27
SD SkillDay.de
Perfect
chart
to
demonstrate
how
change
occurred
over
7me.
Prac7ce:
Show
staff
development
in
an
office
within
one
year.
Source: Data from the blog “Storytelling with data”, Cole Nussbaumer
1.
Create
data
to
be
used
in
stacked
chart
2.
Data
for
bonom
bars
3.
Data
for
top
bars
(the
change
you
like
to
show)
4.
Create
stacked
chart
and
make
bonom
bars
of
change
data
transparent

28. How
to
build
a
slope
graph
28
SD SkillDay.de
Can
be
useful
when
you
have
two
7me
periods
of
data
and
want
to
contrast
the
increases/decreases
between
the
two
periods
• A
slope
graph
is
a
line
chart
that
has
only
two
data
points
(here
before
and
afer
a
change)
Remove
Y
axis
and
use
a
text
field
for
labels
To
add
X
axis
labels,
click
in
chart,
select
mark
data
and
select
data
for
X
axis
from
your
table
To
posi7on
labels
at
the
end
points
of
the
lines,
click
on
axis,
select
scale
and
remove
check
in
default
selng

29. How
to
link
Excel
to
PowerPoint
29
SD SkillDay.de
Link
charts
from
Excel
to
PowerPoint
and
Word,
so
that
they
automa7cally
update,
when
data
in
the
spreadsheet
changes
• Copy
chart
(cmd+c)
• Go
to
PowerPoint
and
select
paste
special
• Insert
chart
as
a
“MS
Office-­‐Zeichnungsobjekt”
This
is
how
it
works
on
a
Mac.
If
you
work
on
a
PC
you
must
select
the
following
op4ons:
Source:
Screenshot:
h[ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8p-­‐PgrN6Cs

30. Thank you!
If you have any questions or
remarks regarding these functions
feel free to contact me at
joern@skillday.de