Trend Analysis and excel

[EliseFreedman]

Hi there.

Not been in here for a while but once again it’s time to pick the brains of some of you tek-tip experts

I have been working with a colleague to produce some weekly statistics on closure of actions from some of our systems. I have pulled together a workbook with several different worksheets which basically show the data in different ways for example I have one spreadsheet listing the actions outstanding by actionee as a grid, another showing them by site, another by area within the site, etc. This hasn’t been too bad. The plan is that the workbook will be used at meetings held on a weekly basis. So far I have had positive feedback. My problem is that my colleague would like to take this one step further by being able to carry out trend analysis on the data so for example to be able to create a chart showing how many actions a selected person/area had outstanding each week so you could see whether it was getting better/worse.

What is the best way to do this. Obviously I am somehow going to have to consolidate the data (plan to have one workbook for each week which will have the same layout). Thought about using vba to write the totals each week to another workbook that I can then use to produce the charts. Was also thinking I could use vlookups. I have also seen consolidation ranges/workbooks mentioned but don’t really know where to start

What do you guys suggest?

 

[SkipVought]

Hi,

Obviously I am somehow going to have to consolidate the data (plan to have one workbook for each week which will have the same layout)

Are you saying that this is just a report (weekly) but that the week to week data analysis and reporting is in a master workbook? That’s how I’ve done it. Unless you need archived weekly report snapshots, I’d just accumulate your data in one place, from which you can report weekly, monthly, quarterly, year to date, compare last year to this year, and the possibilities go on and on. Please do not segment your data! It makes reporting and analysis a nightmare. Just some general comments.

Comparing period to period(s) is often helpful. Then you can see trends. Some like charts. Some like traffic light indicators based on some criteria. All sounds like fun. Loved these kinds of challenges.

being able to carry out trend analysis on the data so for example to be able to create a chart showing how many actions a selected person/area had outstanding each week so you could see whether it was getting better/worse.

For this, maybe to use in a conference room review meeting, I’d use a chart with interactive controls, like a ComboBox (could be a Data > Validation > In-Cell Drop Down.) to display in the meeting.

Skip,
[sub]
Just traded in my OLD subtlety...
for a NUance![/sub]

 

[EliseFreedman]

Im confused as to how I can compare the data weekly, monthly etc unless I have a workbook for each week. (with reports I’ve done in the past I just over write the data each week

 

[SkipVought]

The key thing is how you organize your data so that it can be properly analyzed and reported. Table and database (in Excel) design is of utmost importance even before you begin making Reports and charts.

Where will this data come from and how will it be appended to the existing data each week?

Does any of this data already exist in some other database?

You ought to automate as much data acquisition as you can.

Skip,
[sub]
Just traded in my OLD subtlety...
for a NUance![/sub]

 

[SkipVought]

Im confused as to how I can compare the data weekly, monthly etc unless I have a workbook for each week. (with reports I’ve done in the past I just over write the data each week

Say it ain’t so, Joe! You’re proposing a nightmare!

You must have a centralized database that includes the WeekOf date in each row. that is how you can compare data week to week or the past three weeks or four weeks or for the month or whatever. You’ve got to broaden your horizons.

I’ve had projects that included data for several years. No big deal!

Skip,
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Just traded in my OLD subtlety...
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[SkipVought]

Here's a simple example of 2 tables (Amounts, Bases) a Query on the Chart sheet with 2 controls: Number of Weeks and Employee.

Amounts-is the main table containing week of data
Bases-is a reference table of Base value for each Employee used in the Amunts table to fill the Base column. [tt]=INDEX(tBases[Base],MATCH(B2,tBases[Emp],0),1)[/tt]

It's an example of how you need to have all the week of data in one table that can be reported on via a query in this case.

There is a small amount of code in the Chart sheet code sheet.

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Just traded in my OLD subtlety...
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[Andrzejek]

how I can compare the data weekly, monthly etc unless I have a workbook for each week.

Let’s say you have a weekly report. You need 52 workbooks for each year, over 10 years period you will end up with 520 workbooks. If you want to compare any of them, you need to incorporate some / many / most / all of the 520 workbooks.

Now, let’s say you have one workbook where on the worksheet you have a column with the date of the record. Suddenly you can extract data from any period: weekly (between 1/1/2018 and 1/7/2018), monthly (between 1/1/2018 and 2/1/2018), annually (between 1/1/2017 and 1/1/2018) or any other time span.



---- Andy

There is a great need for a sarcasm font.

 

[SkipVought]

Elsie,

Is this going anywhere?

Skip,
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Just traded in my OLD subtlety...
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