What to Consider When Building an Excel Dashboard

Introduction

Dashboards created in Microsoft Excel provide an efficient way to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), track metrics, and make data-driven decisions. Excel dashboards are interactive reports allowing business users to effortlessly visualize and analyze collected data. A well-crafted Excel dashboard can offer quick insights regarding a company’s performance, enable users to quickly detect problems, and enable important decisions that can improve business operations.

When building an Excel dashboard, certain considerations must be taken into account to ensure the data is presented in the most accurate and effective way. This article will cover what to consider when building an Excel dashboard, including elements such as the representation of data, layout, and custom visuals.

Data Collection

All dashboards require data. This data can come from internal business systems, spreadsheets, databases, or public data sources. For the purpose of building an Excel dashboard, the source of data should be identified.

Source of Data

The source of data is the main source where the data is originating from. This can be a database, a transactional system, or external API. Pre-existing spreadsheets may require manual input, while others can be created through API connections. Regardless of the source of data, identify a reliable, secure source that is able to contain the required data.

Extract Important Data

Once the source of data is identified, it is important to extract the data that is necessary for building the Excel dashboard. In order to do this, it is important to narrow down the focus to the essential information that is required. Focus on the most relevant fields and avoid extra details that will not be used in the dashboard. This will help keep the dashboard organized, meaningful, and manageable.

• Identify the source of data
• Extract important data
• Avoid irrelevant data

Visual Design Elements

When creating an Excel dashboard, it is important to consider the visual design elements to make the dashboard design appealing and legible. These elements can include colors, tables, and icons. Below are a few key elements to consider when creating an Excel dashboard.

Colors

Using colors in the design is an essential element when creating an Excel dashboard. Colors can be used to bring attention to important points within the dashboard and make information more prominent.

Clarity is key when utilizing colors in an Excel dashboard. Using contrasting colors helps to draw attention to certain elements on the dashboard that should be focused on. Pay attention to design elements, such as color palette choice, and make sure the colors used are not overwhelming to the user.

Tables

Tables are a useful element in an Excel dashboard as they provide a clear way to present information. While creating tables within the Excel dashboard, it is important to consider page layout, rows and columns, organizational format of data, and sorting.

By paying attention to these design elements within the tables, users can quickly and easily understand and interact with the data being presented in the dashboard.

Icons

Icons are a great way to make an Excel dashboard more visually appealing. They can also help simplify the user experience by providing an easy way to access certain features. Utilizing icons in an Excel dashboard can make a complex dashboard easier to understand.

When using icons, be sure to use icons that are easily recognizable and convey the intended meaning. Incorporating icons should not distract from the dashboard or make it difficult to understand.

Data Exploration & Representation

Data exploration is a crucial step when building an Excel dashboard. Gathering, preparing and organizing the right data before presenting it in the dashboard is essential. Every dashboard should contain the data that an audience may want to see upon first glance. Hence, it must fit the purpose of the dashboard and should be tailored to the audience.

The following are some of the things to consider when exploring and representing data for an Excel dashboard:

Prepare data accordingly

Data needs to be prepared specifically for the dashboard. The data should be organized in the format that helps create the best visual representation of the data. If the data is already structured in tables, it needs to be modified and rearranged for specific goals. If it's unstructured, it should be sorted and organized into logical groups.

Use formulas and functions to compare data

Formulas and functions are essential tools for analyzing data. They can be used to compare different data sets and make predictions. Formulas and functions should be used selectively to reduce complexity and ensure the accuracy of results. For example, if a dashboard needs to compare sales data from different stores, the IF function can be used to identify the stores that have experienced increased sales.

Reporting

When constructing an Excel dashboard, reporting is a key element of communication. Reports represent the data in a way that helps the audience interpret and understand the data. Excel dashboards empower organizations to make decisions based on data, however, the dashboard needs to be presented in an understandable and meaningful way.

Translate the data telling a story

Translating the data so it tells a story is an effective technique for presenting a dashboard. Context is needed for data to become meaningful and for patterns and trends to be discovered. Using visual aids and color to create memorable representations make this information even more impactful.

Link it to business objectives

When deploying a dashboard, it is important to link the data to measurable business objectives. This will help to prioritize and focus efforts in the right direction. Dashboards can be automated and used to track performance of objectives over time to keep decision makers informed at all times.

Dashboard Adding Functionalities

Excel Dashboards are an essential tool for visualizing data, creating trends and providing a more concise snapshot of key performance indicators. In order to make the most of your Excel Dashboard, it is important to understand and consider the function and automation capabilities in the design phase. Below we address two key functions to consider when building a Dashboard.

Automation

Automating your dashboard is one key way to enhance its functionality and utility, by ensuring that all data are regularly updated and trends analyzed automatically. Automation can be accomplished by carrying out actions such as automatically refreshing the data when a file is opened, flushing the data using a process known as Refresh All, or creating an automated process to run in the background and refresh the data at a specific time. Automating your dashboard can also be accomplished by creating macros to run functions such as creating a chart or an analysis of specific data points.

Linking various tabs

The ability to link multiple tabs within an Excel Dashboard is another powerful way to ensure data are up-to-date, and can be used to pull data from various sources. To link tabs within your Dashboard, you can create a formula using the pointing function and linking data from the source tab with the target tab. This function can also be used to create complex calculations and pull data from multiple sources in order to visually display trends or patterns across these different sources on one dashboard.

Using the automation and linking capabilities will greatly enhance the utility and functionality of your Excel Dashboard, by ensuring that all data are up-to-date and monitored on a real-time basis. Understanding and considering these capabilities within your design phase will help you to become an Excel whiz, and take your data presentations to the next level!

Conclusion

Creating an Excel dashboard is an essential tool for any business user looking to maximize data display in an efficient manner. Dashboards provide the opportunity to monitor, analyze, and take action on huge data sets in a collapsible, digestible way. Excel dashboards are cost efficient, reliably secure, and accessible to users who need to work remotely. Keeping these benefits in mind, any organization looking to gather and disseminate data in concise, relevant manner should consider creating an Excel dashboard.