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Excel Data Analysis Best Practices
Excel Data Analysis Best Practices
com
Best Practices
1. Get data and look at its format
b. If it is BAD
1. Look at the GOOD data checklist items which failed and clean the
data. You can use:
b. Flash Fill
a. Excel sheet
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a. Pivot Table
ii. DO NOT try to recreate existing Excel reports using Power View
c. Power Map
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5. Once summarized
3. Add Slicers
ii. Use ALL methods available to you for analyzing information and find out
useful and actionable information from the data
iv. Along with each finding – also note down the most appropriate action
plan
i. Data bars
iv. Sparklines
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a. Use static copy-pasted images from Excel into PPT for reference
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Each column must have a heading (not Heading cannot contain data. For
1.
data) example, Jan, Feb are NOT headings.
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Detecting inefficiency
1. Repetition = Inefficiency
2. UNDO = Inefficiency
5. Small data – less time, large data – much more time = Inefficiency
e. For visual features (like conditional formatting, sparklines, chart types, etc.)
VIEW all options when you are learning. Just reading the captions is not enough.
Build a visual vocabulary.
a. If it is a local problem
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iv. If not, just eliminate the options that are not relevant
Examples: Changing the look of the entire pivot table, Cropping a picture,
Changing colors in SmartArt
d. Find the practical business scenario where the feature will be useful
4. Sharing
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Blog Articles
Here are some useful blog articles I have written.
Continued Learning
Grow Learn
Share Apply
This is a continuous process. Once you start benefiting from this extra effort, you will be
tempted to do it more often. Soon it will become a subconscious habit.
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