Organize the Data

Professional formatting follows the formatting guidelines we studied during the first week of class.

Documentation sheet added to provide author, purpose, and date and provide information about each of the sheets you will create as you analyze the data.

At least one calculated field added and copied to all cells in the worksheet.

Analyze the Data

Analyze the data in at least three different ways. Each form of Data Analysis should be provided on a separate, appropriately labeled worksheet. It is expected that each sheet will be professionally formatted and clearly documented with titles, comments, and explanation. Remove any extra sheets so your workbook is as compact as possible when you turn it in. Go back and review your labs for assistance in completing the different types of analysis.

The following are some examples of analysis you might wish to do:

Sort by discount level. Have discounts increased sales volumes? Is there any discount level that appears to be more effective than others?

Graph sales over time to see trends. Are there any peaks and lows in sales? Is there any time of year in which sales are highest? Lowest?

Pivot the data to see total sales by quarter, country, category, and salesperson. Are there any highs? Are there any lows that need to be addressed?

Subtotal the data. How are quarterly sales totals? Sales totals by salesperson? By Country?

Challenge Option: Perform What-If Analysis. What if prices were raised by a certain percentage with a slight decline in sales? What combination of price increases and decline in sales makes most sense?