Prerequisite: None

Course Outline

This can also be taught using R (no previous experience required).

As more organizations aim to harness the power of data-driven decisions, the demand has soared for data-literate professionals who can dive into and analyze data. In this hands-on course, you will learn foundational skills to robustly analyze business data and become a valued data detective.

Many find the prospect of gaining data literacy skills intimidating as they assume that learning advanced statistics is required—not true!

In this class you will learn all the fundamentals of robustly analyzing business data using Excel. No fancy Excel functions or complex calculations are required—we promise!

We will teach you a tool as simple as it is powerful: the process behavior chart. The process behavior chart is a visual tool uniquely suited for the data detective that allows you to answer questions such as:

• Given historical business performance, what should we reasonably expect to see in the future?
• We’ve implemented a new business initiative (e.g., an incentive plan). Is the initiative really working?
• Is the business performance of Division A actually superior to the business performance of Division B?

With your newly acquired skills you will be positioned to become not only a data-literate detective but also a trusted advisor providing rigorous, compelling insights into the multitude of KPIs, dashboards, and scorecards so common in today’s organizations.

Want to know the best part? No programming or difficult mathematics are required!

Your Team Will Learn

• Basic data concepts: summaries and visualizations
• Why business data often requires a different style of analysis
• Data analysis fundamentals
• The process behavior chart
• How to build process behavior charts in Excel
• How to rigorously identify trends/patterns in business data
• How to rigorously compare groups/collections of business data
• How to communicate your insights effectively
• Additional resources to extend your learning

Geared To

• Business/data analysts, database developers, BI/report developers, managers, and anyone else interested in developing their data literacy
• No skills in programming or statistics are required
• We make no assumptions about your level of data literacy!

Laptop Setup

Attendees will need a laptop computer with specific software installed before the session. In advance of the class, attendees will receive detailed software download and installation instructions.