Technology for Merchandise Planning and Control

Transcription

1 Contents: Technology for Merchandise Planning and Control Module Seven: Enhancing Charts Using What if Analysis REFERENCE/PAGES Enhancing Charts... Unit J 1 XL2007 Customizing a Data Series... Excel 226, 227 Changing a Data Source and Adding Data Labels... Excel 228, 229 Formatting the Axes of a Chart... Excel 230, 231 Adding a Data Table to a Chart... Excel 232, 233 Rotating a Chart and Enhancing a Chart with WordArt... Excel 234, 237 Adding a Picture to a Chart... Excel 238, 239 Identifying Data Trends... Excel 240, 241 Using What if Analysis... Unit K 1 XL2007 Defining a What if Analysis... Excel 250, 251 Tracking a What if Analysis with Scenario Manager... Excel 252, 253 Generating a Scenario Summary... Excel 254, 255 Projecting Figures Using a Data Table... Excel 256, 257 Using Goal Seek... Excel 258, 259 Setting up a Complex What if Analysis with Solver... Excel 260, 261 Running Solver and Summarizing Results... Excel 262, 263 Analyzing Data Using the Analysis ToolPak... Excel 264, 265 Assignments:... EXCEL SPREADSHEETS (1) Unit J: Pages Excel 225 to Excel Region Sales (2) Unit K: Pages Excel 249 to Excel Tours Quiz Preparation: REVIEW FOR PRACTICE Unit J Concepts Review... Excel 242, 243 Unit K Concepts Review... Excel 266, 267 Note: 1 XL2007 = Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Illustrated Complete, Elizabeth Eisner Reding/Lynn Wermers

2 Enhancing Charts Excel offers a wide variety of chart types which can be customized by adjusting the data and chart features in and by adding special formatting and graphics so that data presentation has greater impact. In this unit, you will enhance charts by manipulating chart data, formatting axes, and rotating charts. You will also clarify data display by adding data tables, special text effects, pictures, and trendlines. The goal of enhancing charts is to communicate data more clearly and accurately. The charts in this unit compare sales in the Quest regions over the first two quarters of the year, and enhance them to improve their appearance and to make the worksheet data more accessible. CUSTOMIZING A DATA SERIES A data series is a sequence of values that Excel uses to plot, or create, a chart. The data series in a chart are formatted to make the chart more attractive and easier to read. Formatting includes changing borders, patterns, or colors of the data series. Here you will create a chart showing the sales for each sales region in January and February, first by creating a column chart, which will then be customized to make it easier to compare the sales for each region. 3D Clustered Column Chart 1 Complete steps 1 through 8 on page Excel 226, checking the results against the illustrations on the facing page. CHANGING A DATA SOURCE AND ADDING DATA LABELS As workbooks are updated with new data, you also need to add data series to (or delete them from) the chart. Excel makes it easy to revise the charts data source and to rearrange chart data. To communicate chart data more clearly, you can add descriptive text, called data labels, which appear above the data marker in a chart. Here you will create a chart showing branch sales for the first quarter. You will add march data to your chart so that it reflects the first quarter sales. You will add data labels to your chart to make the chart more attractive. It will be easier to compare branch sales in a 3D column chart that is not clustered. 2

3 Follow steps 1 through 7 on page Excel 228 of your text to change the chart type, to switch the Row/Column orientation of the chart, to change the chart style, modify the data source and reposition the chart. Refer to illustrations and information on page Excel 229 to confirm your results. FORMATTING THE AXES OF A CHART Chart data is plotted and formatted, then placed with the chart axes within the chart s plot area. Data values in two dimensional charts are plotted on the vertical (y) axis (often called the value axis, since it usually shows value levels). Categories are plotted on the horizontal (x) axis (often called the category axis because it usually shows data categories). Excel creates a scale for the value (y) axis based on the highest and lowest values in the series and places intervals along the scale. A three dimensional chart has three axes; the x axis remains the category axis, but the z axis becomes the value axis and the y axis becomes a measure of the charts depth and does not show. In three dimensional charts, the value (z) axis usually contains the scale. Here you will override the default formats for chart axes by using the Format Axis dialog box. You will increase the maximum number on the value axis and change the axis number format. You will also add axes titles to explain the plotted data. Follow steps 1 through 7 on page Excel 230 of your text to reformat the primary vertical and horizontal axes of the chart. ADDING A DATA TABLE TO A CHART A data table is a table containing the chart data, attached to the bottom of the chart. Data tables are useful because they display directly on the chart itself the data used to generate the chart. 3

4 The details can be displayed in line, area, column, and bar charts, and are automatically printed along with chart. It is a good practice to add data tables to charts that are stored separately from worksheet data. Here you will move the chart to its own worksheet and add a data table to emphasize the charts first-quarter data. Use steps 1 through 6 on page Excel 232 of your text to add a data table to the chart. Review the information, illustrations and instructions on page Excel 233 for assistance in understanding and applying this function. ROTATING A CHART Three dimensional charts do not always display data in most effective way. In many cases, one or more of the charts data points can obscure the view of other data points, making the chart difficult to read. By rotating and/or changing the charts depth, you can make the data easier to see. Here, you will rotate the chart and increase the depth, beginning by hiding the data table so it does not overlap the view of the data. Complete steps 1 through 7 on page Excel 234 to reformat and rotate the chart. 4

5 ENHANCING A CHART WITH WORDART WordArt is preformatted text. You can use WordArt to enhance your chart or worksheet titles. Once WordArt is added to your worksheet you can edit and format it by adding three-dimensional effects and shadows. WordArt text is a shape rather than text, which means you cannot treat word art objects as if they were labels entered into a cell; that is, you cannot sort them, use the spellchecker, or use them as cell references in formulas. Here you will add a WordArt title to the first-quarter chart, beginning by adding the title to the chart. Follow steps 1 through 7 on page Excel 236 of your text to enhance the chart by applying WordArt to the main chart title. Review the User Tips information on Adding WordArt to a worksheet and Rotating chart labels at the bottom of pages Excel 236 and 237. ADDING A PICTURE TO A CHART You can further enhance the chart by adding a picture to the chart area, plot area, legend, or chart walls and floors. However, you should keep your chart as clean and simple as possible, so use pictures sparingly. When you add a picture to a chart element, its purpose should be to enhance the message the chart communicates, rather than to call attention to the image itself. Here you will add the Quest logo to the back wall of the chart to identify the company data. Perform steps 1 through 7 on page Excel 238 to add a picture to the back wall of the chart plot area. Note the procedure for saving the formatted chart as a template to easily apply the formatting to future charts. Also note the instructions for adding your name in the center section of the custom footer for this chart prior to saving. IDENTIFYING DATA TRENDS Charts are used to visually represent data over a period of time. To emphasize patterns in data, you can add trendlines to your charts. A trendline is a series of data points on a line that shows data values representing the general direction in the data series. In some business situations, you can use trendlines to predict future data based on past trends. Here the U S and UK sales performance are compared over the first two quarters and sales are projected for each region in the following three months. Begin by charting the six month sales data in a two-dimensional column chart. 5

6 Perform steps 1 through 10 on page Excel 240 to resize and reposition the chart, and to add color trendlines. Review the User Tip information on choosing the right trendline for your chart on page Excel 241. Save the completed workbook (with chart) and submit it using the Assignments tool in the online elearning system. Using What-if Analysis A What if analysis uses a worksheet to explore different outcomes for Excel formulas. For example, what would happen to a firm s expense budget if company travel expenses decreased by 30%? Using Excel, What if analyses can be performed in many ways. You can track What if scenarios and generate summary reports using the Excel Scenario Manager. In this unit you will design and manipulate Data Tables to project outcomes. Also, you will use the Goal Seek feature to solve a What if analysis. You will use Solver to perform a complex What if analysis involving multiple variables and use the Analysis ToolPak to generate descriptive statistics about the data. This exercise is designed to help analyze sales data and project future sales. DEFINING A WHAT IF ANALYSIS Performing a What-if analysis in a worksheet can get immediate answers to questions such as what happens to profits if we sell 25% more of a certain product? or what happens to monthly payments if interest rates rise or fall? The worksheet you use to produce the What-if analysis is often called a model because it acts as the basis for multiple outcomes, or sets of results. Performing a what-if analysis in a worksheet can change the value in one or more input cells (cells that contain data rather than formulas), then observe the effects on dependents cells. A dependent cell usually contains a formula whose resulting value changes depending on the values in the input cells. A dependent cell can be located in the same worksheet as the changing input value or in another worksheet. In this model you will perform an initial what-if analysis of projected sales totals and percentages using projected data. When performing a point if the analysis, use the following guidelines: Understand and state the purpose of the worksheet model - Identify what you want to accomplish with the model Determine the data input values that, if changed, affect the dependent cell results Identify the dependent cells that will contain results dependent cells usually contain formulas, and the formula results adjust as you enter different values in the input cells Formulate questions you want the What-if analysis to answer it is important that you know the questions you want your model to answer Perform the What-if analysis when you perform the What-if analysis, you are exploring the relationships between the input values and the dependent cell formulas. TRACKING A WHAT IF ANALYSIS WITH SCENARIO MANAGER A scenario is a set of values used to observe different worksheet results. For example, you might plan to sell 100 of a particular item, at a price of $5 per item, producing sales results of $500. But, what-if you reduce the price to $4 or increase it to $6? Each of these price scenarios can produce different sales results. The changing value, such as the price in this example is called the variable. The Excel Scenario Manager simplifies the process of what-if analysis by allowing you to name and save scenarios with variable values in a worksheet. Here you will use Scenario 6

7 Manager to create scenarios showing the change in U.S. sales percentage if the region can increase sales over the three months. Follow steps 1 through 9 on page Excel 252 to set up a project by opening, renaming and saving the file for this unit. Be sure start with the correct file (EX K 1.xlsx), to name the file US Sales and to save it as directed in each page of the unit directions. You will work with the same file for the rest of the unit steps. Refer to the illustrations on the facing page (Excel 253) for information on the steps to perform. GENERATING A SCENARIO SUMMARY A scenario summary is an Excel table that compiles data from changing cells and corresponding result sales for each scenario. For example, you might use a scenario summary to illustrate the best, worst, and most likely scenarios for a particular set of circumstances. Using cell naming makes the summary easier to read because the names, not the cell references, appear in the report. Here you will generate and print a scenario summary report, beginning by creating names for the cells in row 2 based on the labels in row 1, so the report will be easier to read. 7

8 Follow steps 1 through 9 on page Excel 254 of your text to generate the Scenario Summary using the Name Manager Dialog box. Add your name to the Center Section of the custom footer as described in Step 9, before saving and continuing to the next page. PROJECTING FIGURES USING A DATA TABLE Another way to answer what-if questions in a worksheet is by using a data table. A data table is a range of cells that simultaneously shows the varying resulting values when one or more input values is changed in a formula. For example, you could use a data table to display your monthly mortgage payment based on several different interest rates. A one input data table is a table that shows the results of varying one input value, such as the interest rate. Here, you will construct a data table to display how the US sales percentage would change as US total sales increased. Complete steps 1 through 7 on page Excel 256 to use a data table to display the results of your What if analysis. Note the distinction between a one input and a two input What if analysis and the differences in the output results. USING GOAL SEEK Goal Seek is a what-if analysis in reverse. In a what-if analysis, you might try many sets of values to achieve a certain solution. In Goal Seek, you specify a solution, then find the input value that produces the answer you want. Backing into the solution in this way, sometimes referred to as backsolving, can save a significant amount of time. For example, you can use Goal Seek to determine how many units must be sold to reach a particular sales goal or to determine what expense levels are necessary to meet a target budget. In this example the exercise answers the question: what January US sales target is required to bring the January Quest sales percentage to 17%, assuming the sales for the other regions don t change? Complete steps 1 through 7 on page Excel 258 of your text to practice using Goal Seek, that is, to enter the desired results first, then see what inputs are required to reach the selected goal. Review the results of your spreadsheet and compare it with the illustrations on the facing page (Excel 259). 8

9 SETTING UP A COMPLEX WHAT IF ANALYSIS WITH SOLVER Excel Solver is in add-in program that provides optional features. It must be installed before you can use it. Solver finds the best solution to a problem that has several inputs. The cell containing the formula is called the target cell. Cells containing values that vary are called changing cells. Solver is helpful when you need to perform a complex what-if analysis involving multiple input values or when the input values must conform to specific limitations or restrictions called constraints. For example, if you are calculating the best ordering combination from several vendors, you may want to restrict the total ordered from a specific company to a certain amount. You can fund each region with the same amount, $750,000, to cover expenses. Travel and entertainment allocations are adjusted to keep expenditures to the allocated amount of $750,000. Solver is used to find the best possible allocation. Complete steps 1 through 7 on page Excel 260 use the add in Solver program. Refer to the Excel help files for assistance in installing the add in if necessary. The instructions on using Solver continue to the next page. RUNNING SOLVER AND SUMMARIZING RESULTS After entering all the parameters in the Solver Parameters dialog box, you can run solver to find a solution. In some cases, solver may not be able to find a solution that meets all of your constraints; then you need to enter new constraints. Once solver finds a solution, you can choose to create a summary of the solution or a special report displaying a solution. Since you have finished entering the parameters in the Solver Parameters dialog box you now need to run solver and create a summary of the solution in a separate worksheet. 9

10 Continue with steps 1 through 7 on page Excel 262 to complete the Solver exercise and view the resulting report (Figure K 20 on page Excel 263). ANALYZING DATA USING THE ANALYSIS TOOLPAK The analysis ToolPak is an Excel add-in that contains statistical analysis tools. The Descriptive Analysis tool in the Data Analysis dialog box generates a statistical report including the mean, median, mode, minimum, maximum, and sum for an input range you specify in the worksheet. Here you will use the add-in to statistically analyze projected regional sales totals. You will use the analysis ToolPak to generate sales statistics, beginning by displaying the original sales figures. Finish the project (Unit K) by completing steps 1 through 9 on page Excel 264. Note the format and content of the statistical report generated in the exercise (Figure K 22 on page Excel 265). Also note the instructions to add your name to the center section of the footer for the Region Statistics worksheet before saving, closing and submitting your work as an Assignment in the online elearning system. 10