Data Analysis and Visualization with Microsoft Excel and Power Pivot

Technology and the data that it both collects and makes accessible is now interwoven with businesses and lives. The era of “big data” has exploded due to the rise of cloud computing, which provides an abundance of computational power and storage, allowing organizations of all sorts to capture and store data. Leveraging that data effectively can provide timely insights and competitive advantage.

Analyzing data to find issues, insights and opportunities, is now a critical part of many job roles. Beyond the analysis, data analysts in all job roles must be able to effectively present and communicate their findings in visually compelling ways.

Microsoft® Excel® is designed for this purpose. Excel can connect to a wide range of data sources, perform robust data analysis and create diverse and robust data-backed visualizations to show insights, trends, and create reports. These capabilities enable people who use Excel for data analysis to turn data into thoughtful action.

Lesson 1: Analyzing Data with Formulas and Functions

• Topic A: Analyze Data with Formulas and Named Ranges
• Topic B: Analyze Data with Functions
• Topic C: Implement Data Validation, Forms, and Controls
• Topic D: Create Conditional Visualizations with Lookup Functions

Lesson 2: Creating Geospatial Visualizations with Excel

• Topic A: Create Map Charts in Excel
• Topic B: Customize Map Charts in Excel

Lesson 3: Performing Statistical Analysis

• Topic A: Visualize Trendlines and Sparklines with Excel
• Topic B: Analyze Data with the Data Analysis ToolPak

Lesson 4: Getting and Transforming Data

• Topic A: Connect to Data with Queries
• Topic B: Clean and Combine Data
• Topic C: Shape and Transform Data

Lesson 5: Modeling and Analyzing Data with Power Pivot

• Topic A: Install Power Pivot in Excel
• Topic B: Create Data Models with Power Pivot
• Topic C: Create Power Pivots
• Topic D: Perform Advanced Data Analysis and Visualization

Lesson 6: Presenting Insights with Reports 

• Topic A: Plan a Report
• Topic B: Create a Report

To ensure success, you should have baseline skill using Microsoft Excel worksheets, particularly in creating workbooks with formulas and functions. Additional workplace experience with Excel is highly recommended.

This course is designed for students who already have foundational knowledge and skills in Excel and who wish to perform robust and advanced data and statistical analysis with Microsoft Excel using PivotTables, use tools such as Power Pivot and the Data Analysis ToolPak to analyze data, and visualize data and insights using advanced visualizations in charts and dashboards in Excel.