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DASHBOARD DEVELOPMENT

We are great fans and advanced users of Microsoft Excel® and have enormous experience developing top-of-the range spreadsheet models for data collection, simulation, analysis and reporting purposes.

 

We have the necessary skills, a keen eye for detail and the dedication to find out what your organisation requires. With these, we provide bespoke Excel dashboards that capture all the key information you and your colleagues need on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. By presenting this in a concise and graphical manner, you'll gain one of the most powerful management tools without the need for expensive new software.

 

Note: certain advanced features require the use of Excel 2010 or later versions. Â®Excel is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.

What makes a good spreadsheet?

 

Most of us are aware of what a good spreadsheet can achieve and could look like. However, not many of us have the time to develop high-quality spreadsheets and to explore the more advanced features in the latest versions of Excel for gathering, manipulating, analysing and presenting data. Instead, we settle for simple tables, duplicate data entries, poor lay-out and lack of error handling.

 

Poorly constructed spreadsheets confuse their users and are - therefore - harder to maintain and more vulnerable to mistakes. Even the cleverest calculations and fanciest features have little impact, if their inputs are confusing and their outputs poorly presented.

 

A well planned and well executed spreadsheet, on the other hand, may take a bit more effort and skill to assemble, but will offer:

  • easier data entry

  • better reporting

  • more robustness

  • easier maintenance

and...

  • an interactive dashboard!

 

What is a Dashboard?

 

A good Excel Dashboard is normally the front end to a large and complex data set. It summarises all key data and key results in a highly condensed format - ideally on a single computer screen - and allows the user to interact with it wherever relevant.

 

The lay-out should be attractive and easy to understand. The use of colour, fonts, graphics, etc., will support the information, rather than distract from it. Interactive features should be intuitive and robust. The image on the left gives a good example. Click on it for a better view.

 

What is involved?

 

Firstly, a recent version of Excel; ideally Excel 2010 or later, but Excel 2007 also offers many useful features.

 

Secondly, familiarity with all relevant features, such as advanced number formatting, pivot tables, conditional cell formatting, and ideally VBA programming. With modern versions of Excel, Power Pivot, Power Query, and socalled "slicers" offer additional functionality for accessing and reporting complex data sets.

 

Last, but not least: experience with good lay-outs and an eye for detail. Knowing how to make the best use of the limited screen space available.

 

 

Process Performance Analysis
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