Two axis graph in Excel 2003 and 2007

Graphs are a very useful means of enabling interpretation of data. Sometimes you may need a graph that shows trends of Volumes and Market Share. The disparity of values in Volumes and Market Share makes it very difficult to have both trends based on one y-axis in a graph. This is usually solved by introducing another y-axis in the graph such that volume has its own axis with larger values while market share has another y-axis with smaller values. In Excel 2003 creating a two axis graph was restrictive in terms of the series to be placed on which axis, this was dependant on the arrangement of the data. In Excel 2007 their is great flexibility in how you decide what data series to put in which axis. This means that you do not have to worry about how you arrange the data series in order to place it in a particular axis.

Creating Performance Dashboards in Excel

I have met many managers having various Excel reports that they need to analyse periodically so as to make decisions on the way forward to improve performance. This can be quite a laborious process depending on how it is performed. Excel is a very powerful tool and is able to make this process more efficient. With the use of micro-graphs and conditional formatting, it is possible to develope a one pager that gives the manager a comprehensive view of the key performance indicators. This can easily be placed into powerpoint for a presentation.