Assignment

On
Data Analysis in Excel
Subject- Management Information System

Subject Code- BMG 804 C

Submitted By:
Shamik Das
MBA 2nd Semester
Roll no. 220646021

 Introduction

Data Visualization is the representation of data in a graphical format. It makes the data easier to
understand. Data Visualization can be done using tools like Tableau, Google charts, DataWrapper,
and many more. Excel is a spreadsheet that is used for data organization and data visualization as
well. In this article, let’s understand Data Visualization in Excel.

Excel provides various types of charts like Column charts, Bar charts, Pie charts, Linecharts, Area
charts, Scatter charts, Surface charts, and much more.

Importance of Data Visualisation

The importance of Data visualization is – analyzing complex data, identifying patterns, and
extracting valuable insights. Simplifying complex information and presenting it visually enables
decision-makers to make informed and effective decisions quickly and accurately.

Data visualization is essential to assist businesses in quickly identifying data trends, which would
otherwise be a hassle. The pictorial representation of data sets allows analysts to visualize concepts
and new patterns. With the increasing surge in data every day, making sense of the quintillion bytes
of data is impossible without Data Proliferation, which includes data visualization.
Every professional industry benefits from understanding their data, so data visualization is
branching out to all fields where data exists. For every business, information is their most
significant leverage. Through visualization, one can prolifically convey their points and take
advantage of that information.
A dashboard, graph, infographics, map, chart, video, slide, etc. all these mediums can be
used for visualizing and understanding data. Visualizing the data enable decision-makers to
interrelate the data to find better insights and reap the importance of data visualization, which are:

i) Analyzing the Data in a Better Way

Analyzing reports helps business stakeholders focus on the areas that require attention. The visual
mediums help analysts understand the key points needed for their business. Whether it is a sales
report or a marketing strategy, a visual representation of data helps companies increase their profits
through better analysis and better business decisions.

ii) Faster Decision Making

Humans process visuals better than any tedious tabular forms or reports. If the data communicates
well, decision-makers can quickly take action based on the new data insights, accelerating decision-
making, and business growth simultaneously.

 iii) Making Sense of Complicated Data

Data visualization allows business users to gain insight into their vast amounts of data. It benefits
them to recognize new patterns and errors in the data. Making sense of these patterns helps the users
pay attention to areas that indicate red flags or progress. This process, in turn, drives the business
ahead.

iv) Essential Excel Data Analysis Functions

Excel has hundreds of functions and trying to match the proper formula with the right kind of data
analysis can be overwhelming. It is not necessary for the most valuable functions to be difficult.

When conducting data analysis, the formula =CONCATENATE is one of the simplest to understand
but most powerful. Text, numbers, dates, and other data from numerous cells can be combined into
a single cell.

SYNTAX = CONCATENATE (text1, text2, [text3], …)

2. Len ()
In data analysis, LEN is used to show the number of characters in each cell. It’s frequently utilised
when working with text that has a character limit or when attempting to distinguish between
product numbers.

SYNTAX = LEN (text)

3. Days ()

The number of calendar days between two dates is calculated using this function = DAYS.

SYNTAX =DAYS (end_date, start_date)

4. Networkdays
The number of weekends is automatically excluded when using the function. It’s classified as a
Date/Time Function in Excel. The net workday’s function is used in finance and accounting for
determining employee benefits based on days worked, the number of working days available
throughout a project, or the number of business days required to resolve a customer problem,
among other things.

SYNTAX = NETWORKDAYS (start_date, end_date, [holidays])

 5. Sumifs()
One of the “must-know” formulas for a data analyst is =SUMIFS. =SUM is a familiar formula, but
what if you need to sum data based on numerous criteria? It’s SUMIFS.

SYNTAX = SUMIFS (sum_range, range1, criteria1, [range2], [criteria2], …)

6. Averageifs()
AVERAGEIFS, like SUMIFS, lets you take an average based on one or more parameters.

SYNTAX = AVERAGEIFS (avg_rng, range1, criteria1, [range2], [criteria2], …)

7. Countsifs()
The COUNTIFS function is yet another powerful Excel data analysis tool. It’s a lot like the
SUMIFS function. The COUNTIFS function counts the number of values that satisfy a set of
conditions. As a result, it doesn’t need a sum range like SUMIFS.

SYNTAX = COUNTIFS (range, criteria)

8. Counta()
COUNTA determines whether a cell is empty or not. You’ll come across incomplete data sets daily
as a data analyst. Without needing to restructure the data, COUNTA will allow you to examine any
gaps in the dataset.

SYNTAX = COUNTA (value1, [value2], …)

9. Vlookup()
The acronym VLOOKUP stands for ‘Vertical Lookup.’ It’s a function that tells Excel to look for a
specific value in a column (the
so-called ‘table array’) to return a value from another column in the same row.

SYNTAX = VLOOKUP (lookup_value, table_array, column_index_num, [range_lookup]

10. Hlookup()

“Horizontal” is represented by the letter H in HLOOKUP. It looks for a value in the top row of a
table or an array of values, then returns a value from a row you specify in the table or array in the
same column. When your comparison values are in a row across the top of a data table and you
wish to look down a specific number of rows, use HLOOKUP. When your comparison values are in
a column to the left of the data you wish to find, use VLOOKUP.

SYNTAX = HLOOKUP (lookup_value, table_array, row_index, [range_lookup])

 11. If ()
The IF function comes in handy a lot. We can use this function to automate decision-making in our
spreadsheets. We could use IF to make Excel conduct a different computation or show a different
value based on the results of a logical test (a decision). The IF function will ask you to run a logical
test, as well as what action to take if the test is true and what action to take if the test is false.

SYNTAX = IF (logical_test, [value_if_true], [value_if_false])

12. Iferror()
We could display a more informative error than Excel does, or even execute an alternative
computation, by using IFERROR. Two things are required for the IFERROR function to work.
What value should be checked for an error and what action should be taken instead.

SYNTAX = IFERROR (value, value_if_error)

13. Find/Search
The FIND function in Excel returns the position of one text string within another (as a number).
FIND delivers a #VALUE error if the text cannot be located.

However, a =SEARCH for “Bigger” will return results for Bigger or bigger, broadening the scope
of the query. This is very helpful when searching for anomalies or unique identifiers.

SYNTAX = FIND (find_text, within_text, [start_num])

SYNTAX = SEARCH (find_text, within_text, [start_num])

14. Left/Right
=LEFT and =RIGHT are simple and efficient ways for retrieving static data from cells. =RIGHT
returns the “x” number of characters from the cell’s end, while =LEFT returns the “x” number of
characters from the cell’s beginning. In the sample below, the consumer’s area code is extracted
from their phone number using =LEFT, while the last four digits are extracted using =RIGHT.

SYNTAX = LEFT (text, [num_chars])

SYNTAX = RIGHT (text, [num_chars])

15. Rank()
Even though =RANK is an old Excel function, it is nevertheless useful for data analysis. =RANK is
a quick way to show how values in a dataset rank in ascending or descending order. RANK is being
utilised in this case to determine which clients order the most stuff.

SYNTAX = RANK (number, ref, [order])

Some of the Methods for Data Analysis in Excel

1. Ranges and Tables

The information you have can be in the form of a table or a range. Whether the data is in a range or
a table, certain actions can be performed on it. Certain procedures, however, are more successful
when data is stored in tables rather than ranges. There are some operations that are only applicable
to tables. You will also gain an understanding of how to analyze data in ranges and tables. You’ll
learn how to name ranges, how to utilise them, and how to manage them. The same may be said for
table names.

2. Data Cleaning – Text Functions, Dates and Times

Before moving on to data analysis, you must clean and organize the data you’ve gathered from
multiple sources. The following approaches can be used to clean data in Excel.

• With Text Functions

• Containing Date Values
• Containing Time Values
3. Conditional Formatting
Conditional formatting instructions in Excel allow you to colour cells or fonts, as well as place
symbols next to values in cells, based on predetermined criteria. This aids in visualizing the most
important values.

It allows you to highlight cells with a different colour depending on the value you set to them.
Rules, data bars, colour scales, icon Sets, finding duplicates, shading alternate rows, comparing two
lists, conflicting rules, checklists, and creating Heat Maps all benefit from conditional formatting.

4. Sorting and Filtering

You may need to sort and/or filter your data to prepare for data analysis and/or to display specific
critical data. You can perform the same thing in Excel using the simple sorting and filtering options.
Sort and Filter are the most used Excel functions. Within columns, sorting can be done in ascending
or descending order. Lists can be sorted by colour, reversed, or randomly generated. Filters are used
to display data that meets requirements. Number and Text Filters, Date Filters, Advanced Filter,
Data Form, Remove Duplicates, Outlining Data, and Subtotal are some of the options.

5. Subtotals with Ranges

PivotTables are commonly used to summarize data, as you are aware. However, Subtotals with
Ranges is another Excel function that allows you to group/ungroup data and summarize data in
ranges in a few simple steps.

6. QuickAnalysis
You can quickly execute numerous data analysis activities and create quick representations of the
results with Excel’s Quick Analysis function.

7. Understanding Lookup Functions

Excel Lookup Functions allow you to search through a large amount of data for data values that fit a
set of criteria. Vlookup and Hlookup are two different types of lookup engines. Analysts use

 Vlookup and Hlookup to discover a value in a database and retrieve other values that correspond to
that value. Data analysts frequently use it to integrate and consolidate useful data from several excel
sheets.

8. PivotTables
PivotTables allow you to summarise data and create dynamic reports by modifying the PivotTable’s
contents. You can use pivot tables to extract important data from a vast dataset. This is the most
practical method of data analysis. After inserting a Pivot Table, you can drag fields, sort, filter, or
change the summary calculation. Two-dimensional Pivot Tables are also possible. Group Pivot
Table Items, Multi-level Pivot Table, Frequency Distribution, Pivot Chart, Slicers, Update Pivot
Table, Calculated Field/Item, and GetPivotData are all important functions.

9. Data Visualization in Excel

Charts are simple to make and display data in a variety of ways, making them more helpful than a
sheet. You can make a chart, modify its type, adjust the row or column, the legend location, and the
data labels. Column Chart, Line Chart, Pie Chart, Bar Chart, Area Chart, Scatter Plot are some of
the different types of charts provided in Microsoft Excel.

10. Data Validation

Only valid values may need to be entered into cells. Otherwise, they risk producing erroneous
results. Using data validation commands, you can rapidly set up data validation values for a cell, an
input message prompting the user on what should be typed in the cell, validate the values provided
against the supplied criteria, and display an error message in the case of incorrect entries. It may be
necessary to insert only valid values into cells. Otherwise, they could result in inaccurate
calculations. You may quickly set up data validation values for a cell, an input message prompting
the user on what should be typed in the cell, validate the values entered against the given criteria,
and display an error message in the case of wrong entries using data validation commands.

11. Financial Analysis

Excel has several financial features. However, you may learn to employ a combination of these
functions to solve common situations that need financial analysis.

12. Working with Multiple Worksheets

It’s possible that you’ll need to run multiple identical calculations in different worksheets. Instead
of duplicating these calculations in each worksheet, you can complete them in one and have them
display in all of the others. You may also use a report worksheet to compile the data from the
multiple worksheets.

13. Formula Auditing

When you utilise formulas, you should double-check that they are working correctly. Formula
Auditing commands in Excel assist you in tracing previous and dependent variables as well as error
checking.

14. What-if Analysis

You can extract critical data from a large dataset using pivot tables. This form of data analysis is the
most practical. You can drag fields, sort, filter, and adjust the summary calculation after a Pivot
Table has been inserted. Pivot Tables can also be made in two dimensions. The functions of Group

 Pivot Table Items, Multi-level Pivot Table, Frequency Distribution, Pivot Chart, Slicers, Update
Pivot Table, Calculated Field/Item, and GetPivotData are all essential.

What is the Purpose of Data Visualization?

The purpose of data visualization is pretty clear. It is to make sense of the data and use the
information for the organization’s benefits. That said, data is complicated, and it gains more value
as and when it gets visualized. Without visualization, it is challenging to quickly communicate the
data findings and identify patterns to pull insights and interact with the data seamlessly.
Data scientists can find patterns or errors without visualization. However, it is crucial to
communicate data findings and identify critical information from them. And for this, interactive
data visualization tools make all the difference.
A relevant and recent example is the ongoing pandemic. Yes, data scientists can look into the data
and gain insights. But data visualization is assisting experts in staying informed and calm with such
an abundance of data.

• Data visualization strengthens the impact of messaging for your audiences and presents the
data analysis results in the most persuasive manner. It unifies the messaging systems across
all the groups and fields within the organization.
• Visualization lets you comprehend vast amounts of data at a glance and in a better way. It
helps to understand the data better to measure its impact on the business and communicates
the insight visually to internal and external audiences.
• Decisions can’t be made in a vacuum. Available data and insights enable decision-makers to
aid decision analysis. Unbiased data without inaccuracies allows access to the right kind of
information and visualization to represent that information and keep it relevant.
Data visualization has the potential to solve many business issues. All businesses must incorporate
data visualization tools and reap transformative benefits in their critical area

Uncovering the Benefits of Data Visualization Tools

1. Effective Data Visualization is the key to unlock Big Data. It can solve any data inefficiencies
and easily and instantly absorb vast amounts of data presented in visual formats.
2. By enabling users to understand data rapidly, visualization can quickly increase the speed of
decision making as well. Any business must make fast decisions and not get bogged down by
inefficiencies. Timely actions result in averting any losses and benefit from any market condition.
3. A big reveal for any differences in the trends and patterns is vital for any business’s survival. It is
critical to know what is causing increased losses or what is required to maximize gains.
4. Visualization helps identify errors and inaccuracies in data quickly.
5. Companies can utilize visualization to access real-time information and assist in management
functions in a significant manner. Decision-makers can benefit from on-demand data and use
visualization to increase the effectiveness of operations and improve productivity.
6. It promotes storytelling in the most compelling way. Visuals are used in the most meaningful way
to convey the right message to the audience.
7. Data visualization assists in exploring business insights to achieve business goals in the right
direction. It helps to correlate the data from the visual representations or graphical representations.
It allows for fast analysis and instantly digests critical metrics.

 8. It enables enterprises to stay on top of their game by discovering the latest trends through data
visualization tools.
9. Without data visualization, businesses would have to spend tons of their time customizing reports
and modifying dashboards, replying to ad hoc requests, etc. The benefits of Data visualization tools
optimize and instantly retrieve data via tailor-made reports, which significantly cuts down on
employee time.

Data Visualization Has a Creditable Impact on Businesses

While big data is conquering industries. Business Intelligence is taking huge strips of data and
turning it into insightful data points. Data visualization is doing its part by quickly presenting the
data to transfer the information to a human brain.
There is a lot of aesthetic value in visualization that accounts to represent a clear message and
convey it.
For businesses where data is the single most crucial thing, they will start going out of business
without data visualization. The winning competitive advantages of data visualization can make or
break companies. It is imperative to recognize that we have no shortcuts to make faster and better
decisions in this time and age without visualizing the data.

The Types of Data Visualization in Excel With Examples

We will illustrate the uses of various charts to grasp Excel's data visualization functionality better. It
will acquaint you with the process of creating these Excel representations and using them to extract
insights from data. The different types of data visualization examples using excel are:

1. Column Diagram

It is a basic sort of chart that displays data as vertical bars. To create a column chart, choose the data
and the necessary choice from the Column chart menu. As we can see, the Column chart has a
number of possibilities, and the appropriate one needs to be chosen. You can format the chart as
necessary.

2. Pie Diagram

Pie diagrams or charts show how much percentage each category of data contributes. We can
quickly understand the percentage contribution thanks to the pie chart. Select the necessary
columns, then click the appropriate pie chart choice from the Pie menu to build a pie chart.

3. Bar Graph

The only distinction between this chart type and a column chart is the presence of horizontal bars.
Choose the appropriate bar chart from the Bar option to create a horizontal bar.

 4. Line Diagram

This graph helps identify trends. To create a line chart, choose the data and the necessary line chart
choice.

5. Pivot Table

Pivot Table in data visualization is a tabular view of data that can summarize, sort, and group large
amounts of data.

Data Visualization Tools in Excel

Let's check some of the free excel data visualization tools that can be integrated into excel.

• Tableau - Without a doubt, Tableau is a market leader. The Tableau team places a strong
emphasis on its usability for all users. This indicates that it is extremely user-friendly and
designed for a variety of teams. Tableau is unquestionably the most widely used data
visualization tool, and Salesforce even purchased it. Tableau is available to everyone, from
data scientists to college students, which has helped increase its appeal.

Steps for Visualizing Data in Excel

The steps for creating data visualizations in excel are as follows: The process for creating data
visualizations in Excel varies depending on the graph or chart type you select. Generally speaking,
the procedure is the same for simple visualizations. Steps may be added if the datasets and graphics
are more complicated.

1. Starting with a well-structured spreadsheet, create your data visualization Excel Labels, and
your completed dataset should be included.
2. Following that, draw attention to the information you want to include in your picture,
including the labels. The sort of chart or graph you want to make can be selected by clicking
"insert" on the main menu. The visualization will instantly display in your spreadsheet after
you've made your choice.
3. You can change the title, axes labels, and colors by right-clicking the chart or graph.
This will reveal a pop-up or sidebar panel with choices to add a legend, change the scale,
and modify the font's size and style.
4. Enter the data into the Excel Spreadsheet or choose the data you want to visualize.
5. The shortcut key for making a chart is simply selecting a cell in the Excel data and
clicking the F11 function key. To create a chart, click on the Insert tab and choose
the desired chart from the list of available charts.
6. The data entered in the excel sheet is used to create a chart.
7. By choosing the design option, you may customize and decorate your chart with various
colors and designs.

 A scenario is a set of input values that you can substitute in a worksheet to perform what-if analysis.
For example, you could create scenarios to show various interest rates, loan amounts, and terms for
a mortgage. Excel’s scenario manager lets you create and store different scenarios in the same
worksheet.

Use Scenario Manager

• Select the cells that contain values that could change.

• Click the Data tab on the ribbon.

• Click the What-If Analysis button.

• Select Scenario Manager.The Scenario Manager dialog box appears with the message “No
Scenarios defined. Choose Add to add scenarios.

• Click the Add button to add a new scenario.

• Type a name for the new scenario.If you already have cells selected, the Changing cells field
will already be populated with your selection. If you didn’t select cells up front, you’ll have
to specify the cells here.



 • Click OK.

•
The Scenario Values dialog box appears, showing each of the variable cells you selected.
If you name the worksheet cells you're changing, the cell names appear here, making it easy
to tell what value you're working with.

• Update any values you want to see for the given scenario.To make sure you don’t lose the
original values for the changing cells, use the original cell values in the first scenario you
create.

• Click OK.

•
The scenario is added and is listed in the Scenario Manager. If you click Add, the Add
Scenario dialog box appears again so you can add another scenario.











 Repeat steps 5-9 to add all the desired scenarios.

• Select the scenario you want to view.

• Click the Show button.

The worksheet’s values are changed to the values you specified in the scenario. You can select any
scenario here to update the values in your spreadsheet.

View a Scenario Summary

A scenario summary report is a single compiled report that summarizes the results from several
scenarios. It’s easier to read than switching between different scenarios. Once you’ve created at
least two scenarios, you can create a summary report.

• Click the Data tab.

• Click the What-If Analysis button.

• Select Scenario Manager.The Scenario Manager dialog box appears, displaying all the
scenarios you’ve created.



 •
The Scenario Summary dialog box appears. Ensure the Scenario summary option is selected.

A summary report for each scenario is generated on a separate sheet so you can compare each one
side by side.

Pivot Table

A PivotTable is an interactive way to quickly summarize large amounts of data. You can use a
PivotTable to analyze numerical data in detail, and answer unanticipated questions about your data.
A PivotTable is especially designed for:

▪ Querying large amounts of data in many user-friendly ways.

▪ Subtotaling and aggregating numeric data, summarizing data by categories and

subcategories, and creating custom calculations and formulas.

▪ Expanding and collapsing levels of data to focus your results, and drilling down to details
from the summary data for areas of interest to you.

▪ Moving rows to columns or columns to rows (or "pivoting") to see different summaries of
the source data.













 ▪ Filtering, sorting, grouping, and conditionally formatting the most useful and interesting
subset of data enabling you to focus on just the information you want.

▪ Presenting concise, attractive, and annotated online or printed reports.

Difference between Pivot Charts and standard Charts

If you are familiar with standard charts, you will find that most operations are the same in
PivotCharts. However, there are some differences:

Row/Column orientation Unlike a standard chart, you cannot switch the row/column orientation
of a PivotChart by using the Select Data Source dialog box. Instead, you can pivot the Row and
Column labels of the associated PivotTable to achieve the same effect.

Chart types You can change a PivotChart to any chart type except an xy (scatter), stock, or
bubble chart.

Source data Standard charts are linked directly to worksheet cells, while PivotCharts are based
on their associated PivotTable's data source. Unlike a standard chart, you cannot change the chart
data range in a PivotChart's Select Data Source dialog box.

Formatting Most formatting—including chart elements that you add, layout, and style—is
preserved when you refresh a PivotChart. However, trendlines, data labels, error bars, and other
changes to data sets are not preserved. Standard charts do not lose this formatting once it is applied.

Although you cannot directly resize the data labels in a PivotChart, you can increase the text font
size to effectively resize the labels.






References:

1. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/data-visualization-in-excel/

2. https://www.tutorialspoint.com/excel_data_analysis/excel_data_analysis_vis

3. https://www.excel-easy.com/data-analysis/pivot-tables.html