3.2 Excel Dashboard Design
3.2 Excel Dashboard Design
3.2 Excel Dashboard Design
DASHBOARD DESIGN
FOR BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
3 Course Projects
Create a visual showing the Build a dashboard to explore Design a monthly KPI Visualize hotel booking data to
evolution of the music industry and salary and employment data dashboard for sales managers show key cancellation patterns
the impact of digital formats across key industries in the US to track regional performance and business insights
Quizzes and Projects to test and reinforce key concepts covered throughout
the course, with detailed step-by-step solutions
We’ll be using Excel for Office 365 on a PC for the course demos
• What you see on your screen may not always match what you see on mine, especially if you are
running a different operating system or following along with an older version of Excel
The key concepts you’ll learn in this course are not specific to Excel
• Although we’ll focus on Excel-specific tips and techniques, the data visualization and dashboard
design principles we teach can be applied universally (Power BI, Tableau, etc.)
PROJECT #1:
Single Visual (Maven Music)
PROJECT #2:
Exploratory Dashboard (Maven Careers)
Information
Finance
12%
Business Services
Manufacturing $68 K
Wage & Employee Trends
$68 K
Construction
Average Wage
$65 K
$64 K
Natural Resources $63 K
Total Employees
Trade & Transportation
PROJECT #3:
Interactive KPI Dashboard (Maven Toys)
PROJECT #4:
Explanatory Dashboard (Maven Hotel Group)
In this section we’ll cover key data visualization best practices for clear communication,
including tips for selecting effective charts, eliminating noise, and facilitating understanding
Common Errors
Data visualization puts both our prefrontal and visual cortex to work, combining the
power of cognition (slow and conscious) and perception (instantaneous)
3 Key Questions
Essential Visuals
Formatting
Storytelling
Common Errors
0 10
3 Key Questions
This is a variation of
Anscombe’s Quartet
Storytelling
Common Errors
0 10
When selecting a chart type, always ask yourself the following 3 KEY QUESTIONS:
Data Viz 101
Essential Visuals
• Time-series • Comparison • Analyst
Data that spans across continuous Compares values over time or Likes to see details and understand
Formatting time periods across categories what’s happening at a granular level
“Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away”
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Descriptive titles and data labels can be used to tell a clear story within your visuals
Data Viz 101
Data Viz 101 1 Choosing the wrong chart type for the data you’re visualizing
3 Key Questions
Storytelling
*DATA SOURCE: Bureau of Economic Analysis *Copyright 2021, Maven Analytics, LLC
COMMON ERRORS
Data Viz 101 2 Showing too many series within a single visual
Essential Charts
Formatting
Storytelling
Try highlighting the series
you want to focus on...
Common Errors
...or grouping the other
categories into a single series
*DATA SOURCE: Bureau of Economic Analysis *Copyright 2021, Maven Analytics, LLC
COMMON ERRORS
3 Key Questions
What are
these values?
Formatting
Common Errors
HEY THIS IS IMPORTANT!
While it’s important to reduce clutter and noise, remember to preserve
any elements which aid visual understanding (axis labels, titles, etc.)
*DATA SOURCE: Bureau of Economic Analysis *Copyright 2021, Maven Analytics, LLC
COMMON ERRORS
Essential Charts
Formatting
*DATA SOURCE: Bureau of Economic Analysis *Copyright 2021, Maven Analytics, LLC
BEST PRACTICES: DATA VISUALIZATION
You are the Data Visualization Specialist at Maven Music, and just received a project
request from the magazine’s Chief Editor
Thank you!
US_Music_Revenues.xlsx
Dataset Summary:
• US music revenues by format, from 1973 to 2019
n=47
*DATA SOURCE: RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) *Copyright 2021, Maven Analytics, LLC
DASHBOARD DESIGN PRINCIPLES
In this section we’ll cover key dashboard design principles, and review best practices for
selecting visual elements, adding context, leveraging effective layouts, and more
Dashboards 101
DASHBOARD [ dash-bawrd ]
Purpose noun
Elements
1. A user interface that gives a current summary, usually in graphic, easy-to-read form,
of key information relating to progress and performance of a business*
Context
Layouts
A group of visuals to help you understand the data and make decisions
Elements • Goal is to explore and profile the • Goal is to tell a specific story or
data to see what insights emerge explain what happened and why
Context • Helps you understand the data and • Identifies key business drivers and
identify interesting patterns & trends delivers insights & recommendations
Layouts
PRO TIP: To allow for both exploratory and explanatory analysis, design the dashboard in
a way that tells a clear story, but includes interactive elements to encourage exploration
Purpose
ASK YOURSELF:
Elements
Context
WHO WHAT HOW
IS THE END USER? DO THEY NEED? CAN DATA HELP?
Layouts
PRO TIP: Think like a business owner before you think like an analyst; before you begin
the design process, take time to understand the outcomes you are trying to impact, the key
stakeholders and their motivations, and the specific purpose your dashboard will serve
Every metric and visual element should directly align with the dashboard’s purpose
Dashboards 101
11. Identify the right metrics to include
Purpose • Which metrics/KPIs can be used to measure the desired business outcomes?
• What level of detail is appropriate, based on the audience and dashboard purpose?
Elements
22. Choose an effective visual for each metric
Context • What type of data are you working with?
• What are you trying to communicate?
Layouts HEY THIS IS IMPORTANT!
This is typically an evolving,
33. Determine the filters & interactivity required iterative process, so don’t expect
to come up with an exhaustive
• Will users need to see specific, filtered views? set of filters, metrics and visuals
• Will users need to drill up or down to different off the top of your head!
levels of detail or granularity?
Context is what gives numbers meaning, and helps users interpret them accurately
• You can add context by visualizing trends over time, highlighting high/low points, comparing
Dashboards 101
performance against forecasts or benchmarks, comparing values against similar time periods, etc.
Purpose
KPI value
High & low points Y-o-Y trending ✓ We drove 694 sales in October
Elements
✓ Sales are down 1% vs. last month,
but up 9% year-over-year
Context
✓ We exceeded our target in Sep/Oct
after falling short in August
Layouts
✓ We see an upward trend in 2020,
with a significant July peak
A strong dashboard layout should draw attention to the most important metrics and
insights, and thoughtfully guide the viewer through a logical story or visual progression
Dashboards 101
You are a Research Analyst and resident “Excel Guru” at Maven Careers, a non-profit
organization helping high school seniors find career paths. Your boss needs a dashboard
built for an upcoming round of school visits, and needs your help!
Dataset Summary:
• US labor statistics by industry & state, from 2017 to 2020
*DATA SOURCE: US Bureau of Labor Statistics *Copyright 2021, Maven Analytics, LLC
MAVEN TOYS DASHBOARD
You’ve just been hired as the Lead Business Intelligence Analyst for Maven Toys, a small
toy store chain in the US. As one of your first tasks, the COO has asked you to prepare a
new monthly dashboard for the company’s Regional Sales Managers.
Dataset Summary:
• Monthly sales figures, from January 2020 to July 2021
You work as a Data Visualization Specialist for Maven Hotel Group (MHG), a Portuguese
hotel chain with resorts in Lisbon and Algarve. One of your colleagues has identified
some interesting insights, but needs your help bringing the data to life.
Thanks!
MHG_Booking_Data.xlsx
Dataset Summary:
• Hotel booking data, from July 2015 to August 2017
*DATA SOURCE: Hotel Booking Demand, written by Nuno Antonio, Ana Almeida, and Luis Nunes for Data in Brief, Volume 22, February 2019 *Copyright 2021, Maven Analytics, LLC
TIPS FOR SUCCESS