Tips to Create an Effective Excel Dashboard

Introduction

An Excel Dashboard is a data visualization tool used to quickly and accurately analyze business data. It consists of an array of charts, tables, and statistics, which are updated in real-time. Excel Dashboards are incredibly helpful for tracking key performance indicators, analyzing trends, and viewing overall performance of organizations.

The Benefits of an Excel Dashboard are numerous. It can help to automate and structure complex data into a format that is easy to comprehend and understand. Additionally, they provide business insights that paint a comprehensive picture, allowing users to make data-driven decisions with confidence. Finally, Excel Dashboards also help organizations to save time and money by reducing the need for manual analysis.

The key to creating an effective Excel Dashboard is in the selection of pertinent data and the design of the dashboard itself. Here are some tips to help you create an effective Excel Dashboard:

Determine Your Goals

Creating an effective Excel dashboard requires first understanding the goals of your report or project. You should ask yourself questions like what are you trying to measure, or what action you want your audience to take. Having a well-defined goal will help you design an Excel dashboard that’s tailored to your audience’s needs. There are two key aspects that you should consider when defining your goals:

Identify Your Audience

When selecting the data and design of your Excel dashboard, you should first understand who your audience is. Different types of audiences may have different needs. It could be clients, shareholders or other stakeholders. Analyzing your audience will help you decide what type of information needs to be included in the dashboard to address their questions and needs.

Clarify Your Message

Once you have identified your audience, the next step is to determine what message you are trying to communicate with your dashboard. This includes determining what type of insight you need to provide in the Excel dashboard. It will also help you decide what charts, graphs and other visuals to include, as well as the format and size of the dashboard.

You should also consider what types of data and KPIs you need to measure and analyze. The data you choose must correlate with the message you are trying to communicate, so be sure to select data that is relevant to the dashboard’s purpose.

3. Preparation and Structure Your Dashboard

a. Outline Your Content

When getting ready to construct your Excel dashboard, start by outlining its content. You should develop a clear plan for what types of data will be included and what information it should communicate. Consider the purpose of your dashboard and the audience who will be viewing it. This will help you determine the type of data you should prioritize and number of charts you should use to most effectively deliver the key message.

b. Gather Relevant Data and Create Charts

Once you have identified the data you want to include in your Excel dashboard, it's time to pull this data together and create charts. Charts are an effective way to visually represent data and make it easy to read and process. Choose the chart types that are best suited to the type of data you are visualizing. Include only necessary information in your chart and be sure to label your axes, legend and add any important notes if necessary.

c. Decide How to Group and Arrange Charts

When you have all the necessary charts to create your dashboard, you must decide how to group and arrange them. To make the dashboard easier to read, arrange charts and data in a logical fashion. Consider the order and position of your charts in relation to each other. Group similar types of data together, maintain a consistent layout and add white space to separate sections if needed. This will ensure your dashboard looks organized and makes it easier for users to find the information quickly and efficiently.

d. Create Dashboard are and Set Up Rules

When the overall structure of your Excel dashboard is ready, you can create the dashboard area and set up rules. This is the area where users will be able to interact with the different components of your dashboard. Include interactive controls to allow users to easily manipulate the dashboard and switch between different data points. You can also add other features such as user defined script buttons and color scale rules to further personalize your dashboard, allowing users to tailor it based on their specific needs.

Add Visuals

Visuals such as charts, diagrams, and tables are an integral part of an effective Excel dashboard. Visuals can help you make data and information easier to digest and comprehend. You can use visuals to highlight trends, summarize data, and track progress.

Choose Appropriate Colors

When choosing colors for your Excel dashboard, it’s important to consider which colors are best suited to the data you’re displaying. Try to use colors that will make it easy to identify relationships, trends and outliers. Bright and bold colors are typically the best choice for visualizing data.

Utilize Icons Wisely

Using icons is a great way to provide additional context and quickly get your point across. Icons are also helpful for quickly comparing values against each other. Icons can be used to represent different data types as well as relationships between data points. When using icons, be sure to choose icons that are easy to understand and interpret.

• Be sure to select icons that are appropriate for the data you’re displaying.
• Use icons to draw attention to outliers, trends, or important values.
• Use icons to represent different data types.
• Be sure to limit the number of icons you use on your dashboard.

Customize Your Dashboard

Once you have built and designed your ideal dashboard, it is important to maintain and keep your dashboard up-to-date. In this ever-changing world, it is essential to constantly monitor your dashboard to ensure that the data is up-to-date and as accurate as possible. This can be achieved through regular updates and monitoring. Regular updates ensure that the dashboard accurately reflects the current situation, then to be able to properly analyze the data and draw solid conclusions.

By incorporating sliders or buttons into your dashboard, users can quickly adjust and view customized data, runs, or datasets. This allows users to personalize their experience and interact with their data in ways that give the clearest understanding possible. Sliders can be used to highlight data points, while buttons can be used to trigger events or updates. With the addition of feature, users can compare data, analyze trends, and more to gain an in-depth understanding of their data.

Final Check

Now that you have created your dashboard, there are a few important checks to make sure your dashboard functions as effectively as possible.

Test Your Dashboard

Before finalizing your Excel dashboard, be sure to test it. This means running through each tab and the functionality of the dashboard overall. If something does not look right, take the time to go back and correct any errors.

Ensure Your Worksheet Follows Best Practices

The effectiveness of your dashboard in Excel also depends on how well you applied the best practices of dashboard design. Check your layout and formatting to make sure they follow Excels best practices. Below are some specific items to review.

• Check your formatting, such as font sizes, font family and color.
• Make sure all ranges and cells are correctly configured to display the data correctly.
• Check your chart design to ensure the data is properly visualized and all the labels are correctly configured.
• Make sure your tab names and worksheet names accurately describe the data they contain.

Conclusion

Creating an effective excel dashboard can be a great way to take the visualization of data to the next level. Through the proper organization and visuals, an Excel dashboard allows for easier side-by-side comparisons of data, makes it easier to spot patterns, identify relationships and deviations from the expected trends, and make more informed decisions. By following the tips outlined above, you can create an effective Excel dashboard that is both easy to build and visually appealing to use.

Creating an Excel dashboard can seem daunting at first, but with a little preparation and practice, you can be creating powerful visuals in no time. With a good understanding of the different types of visualizations, knowing the best practices when creating a dashboard, and using the available features and options on Excel to craft the best visuals, creating a great dashboard is now within reach.