Excel Data Analysis : Modeling and Simulation

This book is written for the students and practitioners who are looking for a single introductory Excel-based resource that covers three essential business and analytical skills--Data Analysis, Business Modeling, and Simulation of Complex Problems. The focus of the book is clearly on analysis of problems for decision making, yet detailed explanations regarding how to use Excel tools are provided. After many years of teaching and consulting, it is abundantly clear to me that for most students, a good example is worth its weight in gold. This book contains many excellent examples in each chapter, some simple and others more complex, and there is an abundance of exhibits to guide the student through the maze of steps necessary for each analysis. The content is quite diverse: - data presentation -- the Feng Shui of spreadsheets, effective communication and collaboration - data preparation -- import, scrub, manipulate data - data analysis -- statistical methods: descriptive, inferential, and predictive, Design of Experiments - modeling -- deterministic, probabilistic, What-if, Scenarios - simulation -- quantifying uncertainty, Monte Carlo Simulation - optimization -- constrained, Linear Programming, non-linear models, Goal Seek - Couple these features with detailed discussions of how to realistically organize and extract insight from complex problems, and I believe you have a unique educational combination in one book Why does the World Need—Excel Data Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation? When spreadsheets ?rst became widely available in the early 1980s, it spawned a revolution in teaching. What previously could only be done with arcane software and large scale computing was now available to the common-man, on a desktop. Also, before spreadsheets, most substantial analytical work was done outside the classroom where the tools were; spreadsheets and personal computers moved the work into the classroom. Not only did it change how the analysis curriculum was taught, but it also empowered students to venture out on their own to explore new ways to use the tools. I can’t tell you how many phone calls, of?ce visits, and/or emails I have received in my teaching career from ecstatic students crowing about what they have just done with a spreadsheet model. I have been teaching courses related to spreadsheet based analysis and modeling for about 25 years and I have watched and participated in the spreadsheet revolution. Front Matter....Pages i-xv Introduction to Spreadsheet Modeling....Pages 1-18 Presentation of Quantitative Data....Pages 19-54 Analysis of Quantitative Data....Pages 55-97 Presentation of Qualitative Data....Pages 99-139 Analysis of Qualitative Data....Pages 141-175 Inferential Statistical Analysis of Data....Pages 177-216 Modeling and Simulation: Part 1....Pages 217-256 Modeling and Simulation: Part 2....Pages 257-302 Solver, Scenarios, and Goal Seek Tools....Pages 303-338