Session 9 Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran1

2 Outline Advanced Graphing Useful changes to default “basic” graphs –Scatter plots –Line charts –Bar charts Chart suggestions Special-purpose column graphs –Waterfall charts –Box and Whisker charts Other useful types of graphs

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran3 Chart Suggestions (Andrew Abela)

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran4 Default Issues Default axis maximum is usually too high. Don’t make a graph with probabilities going up to 120%! If a series runs exactly along the top axis, its width will be partially chopped off. Set the chart maximum very slightly higher (e.g., 100.2%), Or nudge the data a little lower (e.g., 99.8%). Unfortunate colors, fonts, etc. Gridlines, backgrounds, scales

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran5 Chart type Plot Area Series Axes Labels Gridlines Error Bars Lines and Markers? Just one or the other? Do not check the “Smoothed Line” option. For fitted lines, maybe eliminate the markers, make the line dashed; could use the “Smoothed Line” option. Components of graphs

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran6

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8 Default Scatter Plot

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran9 Changes to the Default Scatter Plot Add vertical gridlines (or delete the horizontal ones). Chart Tools | Design | Add Chart Element | Gridlines Move the legend inside the plot area, or eliminate it.

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran10 Changes to the Default Scatter Plot Format the axes so that the labels are outside the graph. Reduce the number of decimal places to 0. Change the chart title. Add a trendline? Change the markers?

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran11 Format Chart Area | Border |  Rounded corners Format | Shape Styles | Shape Effects | Shadow –Outer: Graph casts a shadow –Inner: Raises graph off the page –Perspective: Graph floats over shadow Formatting the Chart

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran12 Cleanest: set the plot fill to “No fill” and delete the gridlines. Subtle color option: set the plot fill to light gray, and color the gridlines white. Formatting Line Charts

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran13 Sometimes it’s difficult to click on a specific data series (or axis) to select it for formatting. Much easier: Format | Current selection –Dropdown box: Choose what to format –Format Selection Selecting and formatting a data series

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran14 U.S. Treasury Bond yields (March 1, 2013) Misleading Line Graphs Scatter graph (better) (line without marker) Line graph (misleading)

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran15 Pie, doughnut, and radar charts are very difficult to interpret correctly. Avoid them unless your data is circular (clock time, compass direction). Line and area graphs are appropriate only for data that (a) occurs in a recognized sequence, and (b) is evenly spaced. Bar and column charts are good when there’s not a connecting recognized sequence for the data. Scatter charts are good when the data are not evenly spaced. Avoid 3-D charts, which add “chartjunk” with no benefit. Particularly avoid cone and pyramid charts, which distort the data by reducing the appearance of the series at the top. Stock, surface, and bubble charts are useful on occasion. Types of graphs to avoid

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran16 Don’t use multiple colors to represent the same kind of data. –OK to use a different color to focus on one value. –OK to use a different color for future forecasts. If possible, label chart elements directly (through text boxes), rather than in a separate legend. For icons and bubbles, their size should be proportional to the square root of the value. Other Rules for Graphs 300% x height makes 900% x area – misleading! 173.2% x height makes 300% x area 15:5 = 300% Nobel Prizes: Bruins 15, Trojans 5

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran17 Column Graphs

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran18 Insert | Charts | Column | Clustered Column Simple changes: –Eliminate gridlines, plot area, and plot border –Select Data | Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels: B1:F1 Changes to Default Graph

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran19 Appearance now: Reverse the order –Right-click | Format Axis | Axis Options –  Categories in reverse order –Vertical axis crosses:  At maximum value Changes to Column Graph

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran20 Appearance now: Vertical axis: Format Axis | Axis options –Maximum: 0.50 –Major unit: 0.10 Left-click to select chart area –Insert | Illustrations | Shapes | Text box and draw the box –With the cursor blinking inside the box, click in the formula window, type “=”, and click on A2. Enlarge, make bold, and center the text. Changes to Column Graph

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran21 Appearance now: Maybe right-click | Format Data Series | –Series Options | Gap Width = 80% –Fill |  Gradient fill, and add gradients to make it look like a cylinder Changes to Column Graph Title linked to data in A2

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran22 Appearance now: Format | Shape Styles | Shape Effects | Shadow | Inner Right-click and Move Chart |  New sheet: Chart1 –Scale up text to fit larger chart. Changes to Column Graph

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran23 Final Chart

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran24 Add a spinner linking back to a cell, and let it vary between 1 and 14. Use the Index() function to copy that row. Change the data series to refer to this copied row. Dynamically choosing the series to graph

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran25 Create “good” graphs from the three last tabs in the Excel file: Scatter Line Column Hands-on Practice