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What is Data Analysis ?

Data analysis is basically getting the most out of your data and being able to interpret the results.

There are lots of standard features built-in to Excel which you will find useful such as Worksheet Functions, What if Analysis, Pivot Tables, Scenarios

Understanding your data and being able to analyse it accurately is very important.

Data Analysis can be divided into three different sections: entering data; manipulating data and presenting data.

There will be times when you want to do more than just enter data into a worksheet and use simple formulas and functions.

Excel also includes functionality which can be used to analyse your data and solve problems.

Both Goal Seek and the Solver Add-in enable you to play "what if" without manually changing the relevant cells.

Data Tables

A data table summarises the impact of one or two variables on formula that uses those variables.

Also allows you to create a series of results based on a single formula.

These types of tables are also referred to as sensitivity tables.

It is possible to create two different types of table:

1) A table based on a single variable that tests the variable's impact on more than one formula.

2) A table based on two input variables that tests their impact on a single formula.

These are accessed from (Data > Table)

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Goal Seek

Goal Seek should be used when there is one unknown variable.

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Solver Add-in

The Solver Add-in is a powerful analysis tool which uses multiple variables and constraints to find the optimal solution to solve a problem.

The Solver Add-in should be used when there is more than one unknown variables or when you want to include constraints.

Solver can be used in conjunction with models of any kind that are built in Excel.

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