Learn How to Create an Effective Excel Dashboard

Introduction

Excel dashboards are multi-page reports generated in MS Excel that help users visualize and effectively analyze data. These features are especially helpful for data-intensive tasks, like financial analysis. Through simple visual summaries such as graphs and charts, Excel dashboards help to easily convey complex patterns and trends quickly.

The importance of using visuals within an Excel dashboard is clear. Not only do visuals help to make the data more engaging, but they also help to speed up the data interpretation process. Moreover, visualizations can help to identify areas of strength and weakness in data, pointing out the most important points.

Identify Your Goals

Before creating a visually appealing Excel dashboard, you need to assess your goals. What is the purpose of your dashboard? What information do you want it to convey? You should also consider whether your dashboard needs to be shared or published. With these considerations in mind, you can begin putting together the elements of your visualization.

Establish a Purpose for Your Dashboard

Your dashboard should have a single purpose that is clear and focused. If your dashboard tracks more than one set of data or has more than one goal, consider creating multiple dashboards so that each can serve a distinct purpose and be more effective. Ask yourself questions like: What information or analysis do I need to convey to my team or audience? What do I want my dashboard to accomplish? Once you have a clear purpose, you can begin planning your design.

Create a Priority List for Your Visualization Elements

Once you’ve established the purpose of your dashboard, you can create a priority list of the elements you want to include in your visualization. Think about which visualizations, charts, and graphs are most relevant to the data and analysis you want to share. Are there ways you can combine multiple data points into one visualization? What order should the elements be presented in? You can also use color to differentiate between various elements and make your dashboards more visually appealing. Take into account the limited space available on your dashboard, as well as the clarity of the visualization.

• Establish a clear purpose for your dashboard
• Create a priority list for the elements in the visualization
• Evaluate how your elements can be combined into meaningful visualizations
• Consider the order of the elements in the dashboard
• Use color to differentiate between data points
• Do not overload the dashboard with too much information

Optimize for Visual Presentation

The right combination of visuals and data can create an impressive dashboard in Excel. Optimizing your visuals can help to visually support and emphasize key data points, enabling your audience to understand data and insights at a glance. The following are key factors to consider when optimizing your dashboard:

Choose the right grid and sizing

When creating an Excel dashboard, it is important to create a grid that supports and reflects the insight you are sharing. Consider the size and type of visuals you will use on the dashboard to choose the type of grid that is best suited. Select the appropriate columns and rows to make the data easier to read, whilst also optimizing it for the design.

Utilize color scheme and fonts with purpose

The colors and fonts you choose for the dashboard can help to emphasize key points, draw attention to certain aspects, and make data easier to comprehend. Choose colors and fonts that add to the dashboard aesthetic, as well as reveal patterns and relationships between key data points. Simplicity is key here. You want to focus on creating a clear visual that is not overwhelming to the reader.

Using Visuals to Tell a Story

Excel dashboards are powerful tools to convey large amounts of data in a simplified way. The best use of visuals, when incorporated into an Excel dashboard, can help you have a compelling and effective story about your data. The following points will help you design an attractive Excel dashboard using visuals.

A. Incorporate Charts, Bars and Columns

One of the most popular ways to add visuals to your dashboard is by using charts and graphs. Charts and graphs provide a simple overview of any set of data. However, it’s important to choose the most appropriate chart as it can help to convey the facts and ideas more effectively. For example, you can use line and bar graph for trend analysis whereas column charts are handy for comparison between sets of data.

B. Ensure Consistency with your Chart Selection

Once you’ve selected the most appropriate chart, you should ensure consistency throughout the dashboard. For example, you can choose different colors, fonts, and line type to ensure your dashboard looks cohesive. Additionally, you should make sure all the text and visuals in the dashboard are clear and readable. Additionally, always ensure that the dashboard works with any screen size.

Utilize Interactive Features

Interactive features can add great value to your Excel dashboards. Here are some tips on how to make your dashboards more interactive:

Consider the use of spark lines

Spark lines are great for showing trends without needing to take too much space on the chart. They are tiny graphs that are presented right behind the cell. Their ability to quickly visualize data makes them very attractive and effective. You can add spark lines in your dashboard with the SPARKLINE() function.

Use Filters to Enhance Interactivity

Filters are powerful tools that can help to better organize data and make dashboards more interactive. They allow users to quickly filter through large spreadsheets and target information that's of interest to them. You can use slicers to easily apply filters in Excel or use the FILTER() function.

• Slicers: Use a slicer to apply a filter to one or more pivot tables, charts, or tables in your dashboard.
• FILTER(): The FILTER() function is a powerful tool that can be used to quickly filter a list of data. It can be used to narrow down the scope of an entire data set to focus on more specific information.

Test and Evaluate Your Dashboard

An assessment of the performance and usability of the dashboard you created is necessary. To gauge the comprehension of users, and determine their understanding of your dashboard and its purpose, you should conduct tests and evaluations. Here are some steps you can take:

A. Assess Performance and Usability

The performance and usability of the dashboard should be assessed to ensure that all data is properly represented. Look for any glitches or minor changes that might affect how the dashboard functions. Check to make sure all visuals are accurately represented and that the dashboard is easy to navigate. The following criteria should be taken into consideration:

• Does the dashboard provide an accurate representation of the data?
• Does the dashboard run efficiently?
• Is the information easy to locate?
• Are users easily able to understand what the visuals mean?
• Does the dashboard provide easy-to-read visuals?

B. Gauge Comprehension

To evaluate users' understanding of the dashboard, you can have testers observe the dashboard and answer questions based on it. This will allow you to gauge their comprehension and pinpoint areas where further explanation is needed. During the evaluation process, look for any potential hurdles users may have, such as being unable to comprehend the purpose of the visuals or not understanding the labels used.

Conclusion

Creating an attractive and effective Excel Dashboard using Visuals, although initially daunting for beginners, is critically important for any company or organization. It offers better, faster, and far-reaching insight into the current state of affairs, from a macro perspective to details of individual projects. Dashboards are the crux of sound decision-making.

The process of dashboard building, although initially rigorous in concept, it can be divided into four basic steps- setting up your database, selecting appropriate data, creating and formatting visuals and lastly, assembling the dashboard. Each of these steps can be further divided into simpler tasks. Careful consideration of every step will lead to successful and reliable Excel Dashboards.

Generating an effective dashboard requires a judicious selection of visuals, as well as adequate space and filters. Coordinating with users, designing the visuals and assembling the final dashboard ensure that dashboards are user-friendly, comprehensive, easy-to-understand, and interactive. This process enhances the overall work experience and efficiency, since the user can properly comprehend huge amounts of data in one go.

The benefits of constructing an attractive and effective Excel Dashboard using visuals are unparalleled. This solution is not only cost-effective but also user-friendly. It enables sound decisions in a short time and ensures better understanding of the data collected. An effective dashboard can also devise strategies for data exploration and facilitate informed decision-making.

Excel Dashboards are an essential part of any organization and their implementation is necessary to ensure that decision-making is based on timely and accurate data. By combining visuals, filters, and organizing information with user-interface, a dashboard can be crafted and can serve as an effective decision-making tool.