Building Interactive Dashboards Using Microsoft Excel

The class is about learning the process of setting up an interactive dashboard using Microsoft Excel. This includes data collection methods, data formatting, creating pivot tables, creating charts, and putting it together into one branded interactive dashboard. It will also go over the use of the correct charts and a little theory behind it.

This class is for students who know their way around in Excel. It’s not a beginners guide to Excel, but rather how to use Excel to put the theory of information visualization into practice. If you have some experience with Excel, mainly in creating tables, formatting and basic formulas, this class is suitable for you. If you are new to Excel, it is recommended to start getting familiar with the program before taking this class.

This class will help you understand (read: not just learn) what creating a dashboard really means. Aside from the tips and tricks learned in Excel, the thought about correctly presenting data, making the sheet error-proof and optimizing the learnings from the data is valuable for reporting with Excel. It helps to more effectively communicate information to yourself, clients and/or colleagues.

You'll need Microsoft Excel 2010 or older to take this class. There’s one small feature that will be discussed that is only available in Windows versions.

• Introduction
• Class Outline
• Lesson 1: Breaking Down an Interactive Dashboard
• Lesson 2: Data Sourcing
• Lesson 3: Structuring Data
• Lesson 4: Pivots & Charts
• Lesson 5: Putting the dashboard together
• Lesson 6: Making the dashboard interactive
• Lesson 7: Branding & Formatting