Chapter 2. Analyzing Data with Excel

IN THIS CHAPTER

Performing a What-If Analysis	53
Working with Scenarios	58
Using Goal Seek for What-If Analysis	61
Solving Complex Problems with Solver	65
Analyzing Data with Lists	71

All data has a story to tell. Whether it's sales, expenses, statistics, inventory, or share prices, the data usually hides something interesting or important that you ought to know. However, even Office gurus understand that although it's relatively easy to enter data into an Excel worksheet, it's much harder to hear what that data is telling you. To put it another way, Office gurus know that to glean meaning from static worksheet data, you have to animate the data in some way so as to turn the data into information.

In Excel, animating data really means analyzing it. Using Excel's business-modeling tools, you can analyze worksheet numbers to make them reveal their secrets. This chapter shows you how to do this by examining five of Excel's most useful data-analysis techniques and features: what-if analysis, scenarios, Goal Seek, Solver, and lists.