Creating Charts Excel

7/29/2019 Creating Charts Excel

1/18

0

20

40

60

80

100

1992 1993 1994

Year

Profit(000s)

Hailguard

Rainguard

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1992 1993 1994

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Figure 1

4: Creating Charts

Components of a Chart 1Chart types 2Data tables 4

The Chart Wizard 5Column Charts 7

Line charts 8XY(Scatter Charts) 9

Line and XY Charts Compared 9Modifying a Chart 10Combination Chart 12

Stepped Graph 13Adding a new series 13

Semi-log charts 15Gantt charts 17Other topics 18

Components of a ChartBefore we see how to make charts in Excel, it will be useful to know the correctterminology for the parts of a chart. This will help you understand the various dialog boxesused to make or modify a chart, and to follow instructions in the Help facility.

The left hand chart in Figure 1 shows that areas have a filland a border. You may specifythe colours for each of these separately. I am not recommending the colours used here!They were selected to make it easy to identify various areas. The areas are:

Chart area: The entire chart shown with a blue fill and dark blue border. All bordersmay be formatted to change their weight (thickness) and style (solid ordotted lines).

Plot area: The area used for charting the data - white with red border. Had the plotarea been formatted with fill set to none, it would have the same colouras the chart area. The two axes override the colour of the border at thebottom and left side.


2/18

Creating Charts in Microsoft Excel 2

Legend: Small box with text - yellow with purple border. The legend identifies thevarious data series. A chart with one data series does not need a legend.

Columns: The columns for the different data series are generally shown withdifferent colours. It is also possible to separately colour the columns fora single data series.

In addition to simple colours, areas may be given a colour gradient and/or a pattern suchas herringbone or brickwork.

The chart on the right in Figure 1 identifies these components:X-category-axis: The horizontal axis shown in blue. The font was also formatted blue

for this axis. The small lines at right angles to the axis are tick marks.Y-axis: The axis to the left (red) is the y-axis. The values on the axis range

from 0 to 100; these can be changed. There are tick marks every 10units; we could change this to some other value.

Secondary axis: The chart is shown with a secondary y-axis in green. A secondary-axis is useful when two data series have very different ranges ofvalues. It is inappropriate in the current case. When a chart has asecondary y-axis, it is possible also to have a secondary x-axis.

Lines, markers: The two data series in the chart are displayed with lines and markers.We can chose (i) lines only, (ii) markers only, (iii) lines and markers,and (iv) no lines, no markers - the data series is invisible! The linesand the markers for one data series are generally given the samecolour but they can be made different. The shape of the markers mayalso be changed; the colours for the foreground (border) and thebackground(fill) may be changed independently.

In Figure 5.18 ofQuantitative Approaches in Business Studies, a jagged line is used toindicate that a chart has y-axis that begins at a non-zero value. Unfortunately, it is notpossible to do this in Excel.

Chart typesFour of the basic chart types supported by Excel are shown in Figure 2 while Figure 3shows some enhancements to these four types.

The chart titlesshow the names used by Excel for these types. Note that Excel uses theterm column chartfor what most of us call a bar chart and bar chartfor a horizontal bar

chart. The line and XY(scatter) charts appear to be almost the same but there areimportant differences, as we will see later. For now, look at the yearaxes in the two chartsand compare the positions of the tick marks (the scale dividers on the axis) with themarkers(the solid squares on the lines.) With a line chart the markers are located betweentick marks; with an XY chart they are directly above the tick marks on the axis. We canformat a Line chart to align the tick marks and markers.

The bar chart has been turned into a pictogram, and the titlesand axeshave been givena blue font. In the column chart, a blue fill has been given to the chart area, and the gapbetween columns has been reduced thereby widening the columns. Data labelshave been


3/18


A Bar Chart

0 50 100 150 200

1996

1997

1998

1999

Year

Profit (000s)

A Column Chart

80

120

140

165

0

20

40

60

80100

120

140

160

180

1996 1997 1998 1999Year

Profit(000s)

An XY Chart

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140160

180

1996 1997 1998 1999Year

Profit(000s)

An Area Chart

0

50

100

150

200

Profit(000s)

Profit 80 120 140 165

1996 1997 1998 1999

Figure 3

A Column Chart

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

1996 1997 1998 1999Year

Profit(000s)

A Bar Chart

0 50 100 150 200

1996

1997

1998

1999

Year

Profit (000s)

A Line Chart

0

2040

60

80100

120

140160

180

1996 1997 1998 1999Year

Profit(000s)

An XY Chart

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140160

180

1996 1997 1998 1999Year

Profit(000s)

Figure 2

added. The line chart has been converted into an area chartwith drop downlines and adata tablehas been added. The chart titlewas moved in the XY chart and large opencircles replace the squares used for the markers.


4/18


trucks

19%

cars

36%

bicycles

30%

buses

11%

other

4% 500

1000

800

300100

trucks

cars

bicycles

buses

other

trucks19%

cars36%

bicycles

30%

buses11%

other4%

500

1000

800

300

100

trucks

cars

bicycles

busesother

Figure 4

Figure 4 shows some examples ofpiecharts. The data for a pie chart may be displayedas the values or as percentages. We may display the category values (truck, car, etc)either next to their slices or in a legend The chart may be exploded or you may explodeonly those slices you wish to emphasise. The third chart (left on second row) is a 3D chart.Excel allows you to make bar, column and pie charts three dimensional. Before you usea 3D chart, ask yourself if the 3D effect adds anything or does it hide information. The

original purpose of a pie chart was to have slices whose areas were proportional to theirvalues. Does the 3D chart preserve this feature? The fourth chart is called a doughnutchart by Excel. The doughnut chart is not limited to just one data series as is the pie chart.

Data tablesData to be charted may be entered as columns or as rows as shown in Figure 5. If we were

planning to make a bar, column or line chart from this data the values 1992, 1993, 1994would be referred to as the categorydata. The other three sets of data with headingsHailguard, Rainguard and Total are called data series. However, Excel expects categorydata to be text data such as Monday, Tuesday, etc. We need to prevent Excel fromtreating the year values as numbers. The simplest way to do this is to enter them as text.Rather than typing 1992, type 1992. The single quote (apostrophe) will cause the entryto be treated as text but the symbol will not be displayed in the cell.


5/18


Year Hailguard Rainguard Total Year 1992 1993 1994

1992 70 19 89 Hailguard 70 82 93

1993 82 46 128 Rainguard 19 46 68

1994 93 68 161 Total 89 128 161

Figure 5

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

1213

14

15

16

17

18

19

A B C D E F G H

Before tax profits for 1994

Hailguard (M) 53,000

Hailguard (F) 40,000

Rainguard (M) 46,000

Rainguard (F) 20,000

Hailguard

(M)

33%

Hailguard

(F)

25%

Rainguard

(M)

29%

Rainguard

(F)

13%

Hailguard (F)

25%

Rainguard (M)

29%

Hailguard (M)33%

Rainguard (F)

13%

Figure 6

The Chart WizardThe process of making a chart may be somewhat oversimplified to three steps (1) enterthe data, (2) select the data, and (3) click on the Chart Wizard icon on the Toolbar.

We will begin by making a pie chart similar to that in Figure 5.2 of QuantitativeApproaches in Business Studies. Open a new Excel workbook and, on Sheet 1, enter thevalues shown in A1:B6 of Figure 6. Remember to type a single quote before each yearvalue (1992) to make it text.

Select the range A3:B6 with the mouse and click the Chart Wizard icon. In Step 1 of the

Chart Wizard process we select the type of chart we require. On the right side of the Step1 dialog box (see Figure 7), click on the pie chart and on the left side click on the topsketch to select that sub-type. Experiment with the Press and Hold bar to preview yourchart. Click the Next button to move to the next step.

In Step 2 (Figure 8) we can see that Excel has correctly decided that our data is in acolumn form. There is seldom any reason to change anything in Step 2 althoughoccasionally options on the Series tab can be useful. Clicking the Next button will moveyou to Step 3.


6/18


Figure 8

Figure 7

Figure 9

Figure 10

In Step 3 (Figure 9) we will have Excel display the data label and the percentage valueson the chart. It is interesting to note that Excel does not provide an option to display labelsand actual values so we cannot readily make a chart the same as Figure 5.2 ofQuantitative Approaches in Business Studies. You may wish to explore the other tabs onthe dialog box before clicking the Next button.

In Step 4 (Figure 10) we have two choices for the location of our chart: on a separatechartsheet or on the same worksheet as the data. When you have a complex worksheetit may be convenient to place the chart on its own sheet. Having it on the worksheet hasthe advantage of being able to see how the chart changes when the data is altered. Wewill select this option before clicking the Finish button.

You may be a little disappointed with the chart you have just made. Later we see a numberof ways of modifying a chart but here are three quick things to do. Click just inside theborder of the chart to get eight fill handles(small black squares). Drag the chart to the


7/18


1

2

3

4

56

7

8

9

10

11

12

1314

15

16

17

181920

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

A B C D E F G H I J K L

Pretax profit for year 1992 - 1994

Year Hailguard Rainguard Total

1992 70 19 89

1993 82 46 1281994 93 68 161

Weatherguard Profits

89

128

161

0

50

100

150

200

1992 1993 1994

Year

Profit(000s)

0

50

100

150

200

1992 1993 1994Year

Profit(0

00s)

Rainguard

Hailguard

0

20

40

60

80100

120

140

160

180

1992 1993 1994

Year

Profit(0

00s)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1992 1993 1994Year

Profit(000

s)

Hailguard

Rainguard

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1992 1993 1994Year

PercentageofProfits

Rainguard

Hailguard

Figure 11

position you want it. Move the cursor over one of the fill handles - the cursor changesshape to a two-headed arrow (6 ). Click and drag the mouse to resize the chart; Excel willkeep the pie as a circle. Finally, right click on any of the words in the chart to cause apopup menu to appear. Use the Format Data Labelsitem on the menu and on the Font tabselect a more appropriate size for the font. The chart is now complete. You may wish tosave the workbook. Later we will change the chart to resemble the lower one in Figure 6.

Column ChartsWe will make the column charts displayed as Figures 5.3 to 5.6 in Quantitative Approachesin Business Studies. The Excel results are shown in Figure 11. The data in the worksheetwas extracted from Table 5.3 of the book. As we start to make the simple column chart, itbecomes obvious that there is a small problem. We need to select the Years and theTotals columns but they are not side-by-side. There is a trick to selecting non-contiguousdata. Select A3:A6 in the normal way and then hold down the C key while dragging thecursor over D3:D6.

With the data selected, click the Chart Wizard. In Step 1 specify a column chart usingthe top right hand sub-type (clustered column). Move on to Step 2 where there is nothingto do and then to Step 3. On the Titles tab enter Years for the x-category title and Profit(000s) for the y-axis title. Move to Step 4 and set the location as the worksheet. Yourchart should resemble the first one in Figure 11. Later we will modify it to look like thesecond chart.


8/18


Line Chart

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1992 1993 1994Year

Profit(000s)

Hailguard

Rainguard

Stacked Line Chart

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

1992 1993 1994Year

Profit(000s)

Rainguard

Hailguard

Percentage Line Chart

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

1992 1993 1994Year

Percentofprofit

Rainguard

Hailguard

Figure 12

The next three charts have two data series the Hailguard and the Rainguard data. Tomake a chart similar to the first one in the bottom row of the figure, select A3:C6 and startthe Chart Wizard. In Step 1 select Column as the type and the second sub-type (stackedcolumn). Continue to Step 3 where the titles may be added. The other charts may be madein the same way, selecting the appropriate sub-types.

There is a quick way to make the second two charts. Select the first column chart with

the two data series and perform a Copy & Paste operation. Right click the new chart andopen the Chart Type menu item. A dialog box identical to Step 1 of the Chart Wizardopens up. Select the required sub-type and click the OK button.

Line chartsBy following the steps above and replacing Line chart for Column chart in Step 1 of theChart Wizard you may quickly make line charts with the same data, as shown in Figure 12below. When selecting the sub-type you must decide if you want just a line, just markers,or both. You also decide if you want a trend chart, a stacked chart or a percentage chart.

Just click on the Press & Hold button to check if you have opted for the right sub-type.

XY(Scatter Charts)XY or Scatter charts are the types of charts you plotted in algebra class. Each data pointhas two values an x-value and a y-value which determine the position of the point onthe chart. Actually, we may now speak of a graph if we so wished.

When the increments between successive x-values are constant, a line chart and anXY chart will be very similar. When the increments vary, a line chart would be totallyinappropriate. In an XY chart we have x-values, in all other charts we have x category

labels.The reader should have no problem making the left hand XY chart from the data shown

in Figure 13 using the same steps as before but selecting this time an XY chart in Step 1of the Chart Wizard. We will shortly see how to modify the chart to appear like the secondone in the figure.


9/18


123456

7891011

A B C D E F G H I

Advertising Revenue

3.05 87.314.72 92.356.91 94.518.01 109.64

11.83 103.19

0.0020.00

40.00

60.00

80.00

100.00

120.00

0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00

Advertising expenditure

S

alesrevenue

70

80

90

100

110

120

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Advertising expenditure

S

alesrevenue

Figure 13

Advertising

(000)

Sales

(000,000)

80 200

100 345110 500

230 900

300 1000

Line chart

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

80 100 110 230 300

Advertising

Sales

XY chart

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

80 120 160 200 240 280

Advertising

Sales

Figure 14

Line and XY Charts ComparedAs we stated earlier, Line and XY charts appear to be very similar. We will now see that

there is a fundamental difference. Figure 14 shows a Line and an XY chart produced fromthe same data. Note that the steps in the x-values are not equal. The Line chart, however,plots them with equally spaced markers, while the XY chart places the markers at positionsthat relate to theirx-values. The Line chart is totally misleading (at least to the casualobserver who fails to note the unequal steps in the x-values) in that it suggests that saleswill keep rising as more is spent on advertising. The XY chart clearly shows that there isa diminishing return as advertising expenditures increase.

The moral is: When the x-values are numeric use an XY not a Line chart.

Modifying a ChartWe will now see how we can modify, orformat, the various components in a chart. At thetop of Figure 11 there are two similar charts. We wish to enhance the first to give thesecond. Right click on the chart area (i.e. just inside the outer border) to display a popupmenu as shown in Figure 15 and select the Chart Options item to bring up the ChartOptions dialog box. This is very similar to Step 3 of the Chart Wizard. Open the Titlestab(Figure 16) and add Weatherguard Profitsas the chart title. By the way, the Excel Spell


10/18


Figure 15

Figure 16

Check feature checks text in charts as well as in worksheet cells.

If you look at the menu shown in Figure 15 you will see an item called Chart Type. You canuse this to open a dialog box that resembles Step 1 of the Chart Wizard and hence changethe chart type should you wish to do so.

The first item in the menu is Format Chart Area. This is because we right clicked withinthe chart area. You could use this item to change the colours of the chart area fill and

border. Experiment with this, ending with a simple column chart.The next task is to change the appearance of the columns. Right click on any one ofthe columns to display a popup menu which is an abbreviated version of that shown inFigure 15. The first item is Format Data Series. Click on this and open the Patternstab(Figure 17). Select a new colour for the column fill and for the border if you wish. Open theOptions tab (Figure 18) and decrease the gapto 50. Note there is no tool for widening thecolumn but changing the gap automatically changes the columns width. The overlapsetting has meaning only when there are two or more data series.

Compare the two charts in Figure 13; the right hand one has (i) no fill in the plot area, (ii)values on the two axes that display no decimal places, and (iii) a y-axis scale that starts

at 70. The first change is readily made by right clicking the plot area, selecting Format PlotArea, and on the Patterntab clicking in the Noneradio button in the Arearegion.The two axes display values with two decimals because this is the format of the source

data. When you right click on the x-axis and open the Format Axisdialog box you find aNumbertab which in all respects is the same as the dialog used to format a cell. Specify0 decimals. Repeat this for the y-axis.

With the Format Axisdialog box open for the y-axis, open the Scale. This is where youcan specify the minimum and maximum values for the axis we need 70 and 100. You willalso see that you can set the major units to some other value in this dialog. Experimentwith this and other features of the dialog, observing the effect on the chart.


11/18


Figure 17 Figure 18

If you select a legend by clicking on it, it may be dragged to any position. Similarly, the texton a pie chart may be repositioned and in this manner make the first chart in Figure 6resemble the second. However, you must click twice not a double click but twoindependent clicks. The first selects all the text (at this stage you may format all the textat once), the second selects just one label which may now be dragged to a new position.It takes a little practice, so be patient.

Combination ChartA combination chart has a mixture of chart types. The chart in Figure 5.15 ofQuantitative

Approaches in Business Studieshas one data series displayed as columns and anotheras a line. We can create charts like this in Excel as shown by the second chart in the figurebelow.

We begin by making a column chart the first chart in Figure 19. The last entry in theAge column is clearly text, so Excel does not treat this column as a data series. Right clickon one of the bars of the Cumulative data columns in the chart and select the Chart Typemenu item. In the resulting dialog box, specify Linetype. If you have difficulty selecting thedata series, temporarily change one of its values for example, change C8's value to 50

to enlarge one of the columns to facilitate its selection.

Right click again on the Cumulative data, select the Format Data Seriesitem and on

the Axis tab specify Secondary Y Axis. Other formatting may now be done: format thesecondary axis to show 0 decimals; add a secondary axis title (right click anywhere onchart, open Chart Optionsitem, open Titlestab); format the fonts to a smaller size (Excel97 and 2000 seem to make the text too large for most uses), etc.


12/18


Age distribution data

Age Frequency Cumulative %

20 2 3.33%

30 8 16.67%

40 30 66.67%

60 20 100.00%

60+ 0 100.00%0

10

20

30

40

20 30 40 60 60+

Age

Frequency

Frequency

Cumulative %

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

20 30 40 60 60+

Age

Frequency

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

Cumulative%

Frequency

Cumulative %

Figure 19

Stepped GraphTo construct the stepped graph shown on page 92 ofQuantitative Approaches in BusinessStudies, begin by setting up a worksheet similar to Figure 20. Note that the date isrepeated when the interest rate changes. Construct an XY(Scatter) chart. Format the y-axis to start at 10% and the x-axis to display the required date format. Click on the fourthdata point and then click once more, now right click. The first menu item should be FormatData Pointnot Format Data Series. Open the Format menu and set No Markerfor thispoint. Repeat the process for the fifth data point and set the Line Styleto a dotted line.Point four (with no marker) should now be joined with a dotted line to the marker of pointfive. Do the same with the ninth and tenth point, respectively.


13/18


Stepped chart

Date Interest (%)

01-Aug-99 16%

01-Sep-99 16%

01-Oct-99 16%

01-Nov-99 16%

01-Nov-99 14%01-Dec-99 14%

01-Jan-00 14%

01-Feb-00 14%

01-Mar-00 14%

01-Mar-00 12%

01-Apr-00 12%

01-May-00 12%

01-Jun-00 12%

01-Jul-00 12%

Interest (%)

10%11%12%13%14%

15%16%17%

1-J

u l

3 1

-J u

l

3 0

-Au g

29

-Se p

29

-Oc

t

28

-No v

28

-De c

27

-J a n

26

-Fe

b

27

-Ma r

26

-Ap r

26

-Ma y

25

-J u n

25

-J u

l

Figure 20


14/18


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

89

10

11

12

13

14

15

A B C D E F G H I J

Month Attendence

Jan 200 446.58

Feb 234 446.58

Mar 345 446.58

Apr 456 446.58

May 566 446.58

Jun 600 446.58

Jul 635 446.58Aug 678 446.58

Sep 589 446.58

Oct 456 446.58

Nov 345 446.58

Dec 255 446.58

Monthly Attendence

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Ja

n

Fe

b

Mar

Ap

r

May

Jun

Ju

l

Au

g

S ep

O c

t

Nov

De

c

=AVERAGE(B2:B13)

Monthly Attendence

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Jan

Fe

b

Ma

r

Apr

May

Ju

nJ

ul

Aug

S e

p

O c

t

Nov

De

c

=C2

Figure 21

Figure 22

Adding a new seriesFrom the data in A1:B13 you have made the chart shown to the left in Figure 21. Now youwish to show the average value as in the right chart. Enter the formulas shown for C2 andC3 and copy the latter down to row 13. Select C2:C13 and click on the Copy tool. Activatethe chart by clicking on it and use the command Edit|Paste Special to open the dialog boxshown in Figure 22. Make sure the New Seriesbox is checked before clicking the OKbutton. Your new series has been added to the chart. You may need to format it to show

just a line without markers.

This technique may be used to produce control charts as discussed in Chapter 12 ofQuantitative Approaches in Business Studies. Figure 23 shows an example of this. Theinset Figure 24 shows the formulas used in the worksheet.


15/18


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

A B C D E F G H I J K L

x y Average = 349.3

0.70 348.78 0.70 349.30

1.77 347.16 24.96 349.30

2.74 352.65

3.79 344.34 UCL = 355.6

4.88 346.54 0.70 355.6

5.64 351.34 24.96 355.6

6.92 350.66

7.85 347.42 LCL = 343.4

8.82 352.49 0.70 343.4

9.83 350.82 24.96 343.4

10.64 351.29

11.78 349.46

12.86 350.30

13.68 350.30

15.02 348.83

15.76 346.22

16.72 351.60

17.93 349.62

18.94 347.89

19.96 349.88

20.77 351.60

21.84 346.22

22.98 344.86

23.88 349.98

24.96 351.60

343

348

353

0 5 10 15 20 25

UCL = 355.6

LCL = 343.4

Average = 349.3

Figure 23

1

2

3

4

5

6

78

9

10

11

D E

="Average = "&E2

=A2 =ROUND(AVERAGE(B2:B26),1)

=A26 =E2

="UCL = "&E6

=A2 355.6

=A26 =E6

="LCL = "&E10

=A2 343.4

=A26 =E10

Figure 24

To make the chart begin by making an XY chart with the data in columns A and B. Formatit as required including the scale of the axis. Select D2:E3 and use the Copy tool. Click onthe chart to activate it. Use Edit|Paste Special and in the dialog box select the items NewSeriesand Category (X values) in First Column. With the chart still selected, type an equal

sign, point and click on cell D1, and click the green check mark in the Formula Bar. Thiswill add the text box Average = 349.3. You may need to drag one side to make it longenough to display all the text. To do this, it may be necessary to first make the text boxhigher so as to display the centre fill handle that you must drag to elongate the box. Ofcourse, you can decrease the height after the elongation. Repeat this process for the othertwo lines and labels.

You may find that, using the mouse, it is difficult to select text boxes later to move orformat them. Selection is easier if you use, instead, the navigation keys t , b , l , and r .By using the up and down keys t , b alternatively with the left and right keys l , r , youwill be able to select any object on the chart it may take patience! Once it is selected (itsfill handles will be showing), use the command Format|Selected Object.

Semi-log chartsSemi-log charts, introduced in Chapter 17ofQuantitative Approaches in Business Studies,are readily made in Excel. In Figure 25 the data has been plotted as an XY chart lefthand side. By formatting the y-axis and specifying Logarithmic scale(see Figure 26) theright hand chart may be made.


16/18


1

2

34

5

678

9

10

11121314

151617

18

1920

212223

2425

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

SemiLog chart

Year 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999Meaglithic 2400 2700 2950 3280 3640

Minimal 80 92 106 122 140

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Year

Turnover(000s)

Meaglithic

Minimal

10

100

1000

10000

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Year

Turnover(000s)

Meaglithic

Minimal

Figure 25

Figure 26

Gridlines have been added to the chart (right click the chart, open the Chart Optionsitemin the pop up menu). These have been formatted to display with grey lines (actually 50%gray) to make them less obtrusive. The text boxes were formatted to have a white fill.Figure 26 shows the dialog box for this a yellow fill is shown for the sake of clarity.

Gantt chartsProgress or Gantt charts, introduced in Chapter 20 ofQuantitative Approaches in BusinessStudies, may be constructed in Excel with a little work. Figure 27 show an example of this.

The problem: A project has three steps. The first takes 25 days, the second takes 30 daysand may begin on the day Step 1 is completed, and the third takes 35 days and may begin4 days before Step 2 is completed. It is decided to start on 1-June.


17/18


123456789101112131415161718192021222324

252627282930313233343536373839404142

A B C D E F G H I J K L M NGantt chart

start endStep 3 51 86Step 2 25 55Step 1 0 25

start endStep 1 1-Jun 26-JunStep 2 26-Jun 26-JulStep 3 22-Jul 26-Aug

start 1-Jun50 21-Jul

100 9-Sep150 29-Oct

Optional: add text boxes

Format y-axis Fontforeground colour: same as chart area

background: transparentAdd text box

Format series 1area: same as plot area

borders: none

0 50 100 150

Step 3

Step 2

Step 1

0 50 100 150

Step 3

Step 2

Step 1

26-Jul

26-Aug

26-Jun

22-Jul

0 50 100 150

Step 3

Step 2

Step 1

21-Jul1-Jun 9-Sep 29-Oct

Figure 27

123456789

101112131415

A B CGantt chartstart end

Step 3 =C4-4 =B3+35

Step 2 =C5 =B4+30Step 1 0 =B5+25

start endStep 1 =$B$12+B5 =$B$12+C5Step 2 =$B$12+B4 =$B$12+C4

Step 3 =$B$12+B3 =$B$12+C3

start 36678

50 =$B$12+A13100 =$B$12+A14150 =$B$12+A15

The data in A2:A5 summarizes the project in terms of days while A7:C10 does so in dateform. The first bar chart is made from the data in B3:C5. Note that Step 1 appears at thetop. If you need the chart to read from top to bottom, reverse the order of the data in A2:C5and A7:C10.

We cannot remove the first series but we can hid it by making the bars the same colouras the plot area and removing borders. This gives the second chart. Optionally, you may

add text boxes as explained above.Alternatively, note the values on the y-axis tick marks (50, 100 and 150.) Enter these

into A13:A15 and enter the formulas shown in B13:B15. We now have datescorresponding to the axis labels the one for the origin is in cell 8. Using the methodoutlined above (type =, point and click on a date, click the green check mark in theFormula bar) make text boxes for the four labels and position them correctly. This givesthe lower chart.

Other topicsA frequently asked question is How do I handle missing data?Suppose you kept recordson the number of visitors at your front office each month. However, Jack lost the data forMarch. You enter the data in a worksheet with no value in the cells for March and makea line chart. The line is broken into two with a gap for March. To avoid this, type =NA() inthe March cell this will display as #N/A. The chart will now join the February and Aprildata points.


18/18


Quantitative Approaches in Business Studiesconcludes Chapter 5 with a mention of ExcelFrequency function. For information on this and the Histogramtool see the unit calledRegressionin this supplement.

A method to construct a box-and-whisker chart (Chapter 6 ofQuantitative Approaches inBusiness Studies) is shown in the Statistics 1 unit.

For more hints on charts, including how to make a dynamic chart, see the authors web siteBernard Liengme

Documents

Creating Charts Excel