| Excel Dashboard Performance Reporting |
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| Written by Kevin Stewart |
| Wednesday, 10 March 2010 14:10 |
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Developing Excel dashboards require the use of the more advanced features that excel provides such as VBA and pivottables. They are different from traditional excel reports. Excel is a cost effective solution in the development of executive and operational dashboards. They require a different way of thinking about excel and the communication of data. They are resource intensive at the beginning as you are trying to establish the information requirements of your audiences. This can be at various levels such as strategic and operational. You also need to have a good data model - pivot tables are great for this job. There are many other principles you should keep in mind. A single page If your dashboard contains too much information it will fail to convey the data effectively. Also, the data might end up on more than one page. Remember, our aim is to communicate a message about the data, don't include every bit of data in a dashboard. The information displayed should be the most relevant and within the left and upper part of the screen. This will depend on the purpose of the dashboard. The other point here is that if something is off-page, then it can't be viewed quickly. It might not be seen at all. The other reason for this is when you print your dashboard, it should also fit to a single page. Easy to understand Also, excel dashboards should signal when more action is required through the use of visual attributes. When developing an excel dashboard, it is advisable to start with a mock-up of the performance information that is required and work backwards to the point where data is gathered. They should help to visually identify trends and patterns quickly without confusion. In other words, if it doesn't communicate any information about the data then don't display it. Examples of this could be logos, pictures and 3D charts. Add interactivity Adding extra interactivity to your dashboard, such as being able to select a certain region or being able to drill down can make a huge difference in the perceived usability. About the Author: Find out about the latest guide and examples about developing your own excel dashboard. Great guides and courses on how to go about learning excel and other advanced techniques. |