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EXCELLENCE TECHNOLOGY

Spreadsheets You Can Trust

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LEVEL 1 · 0/3LEVEL 2 · 0/3LEVEL 3 · 0/3LEVEL 4 · 0/3LEVEL 5 · 0/3START
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Spreadsheets fail quietly. Learn the errors that reached journals and policy, then build the habits that prevent them (clean data, text formats, validation, $ references, loud lookups, cross-checks, tables, pivots and honest charts) from research, official reports and Microsoft's documentation.

2h 56m5 constellations
AT THE SUMMIT, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO

01Know how spreadsheets fail silently, and the checks that catch it

02Organize data so it can be sorted, validated and analyzed

03Write formulas and lookups that fail loudly instead of quietly

04Summarize with tables and PivotTables, and chart honestly

Every lesson of Spreadsheets You Can Trust

15 lessons in 5 levels, about 3 hours. Level 1 is free.

Level 1Where Spreadsheets Go WrongFree · 3 lessons
  1. When spreadsheets go wrongSee how quiet spreadsheet errors reached scientific journals and economic policy.11 min
  2. Know your tool's limitsKnow the hard limits of a worksheet, and what happens when data silently overflows.12 min
  3. Checkpoint: stop the silent conversionsPrevent a spreadsheet from turning codes, IDs and fractions into dates or numbers.12 min
Level 2Clean Data FirstMembership · 3 lessons
  1. One rectangle of dataLay out raw data so it's easy to check, sort and analyze.11 min
  2. Dates, names and a data dictionaryWrite dates unambiguously, name things well, and document what each column means.12 min
  3. Checkpoint: stop bad data at the doorUse data validation and drop-down lists to prevent entry errors.12 min
Level 3Formulas That HoldMembership · 3 lessons
  1. Relative, absolute, mixedCopy formulas without breaking them, using $ references.11 min
  2. Lookups that fail loudlyUse XLOOKUP with exact matches, and handle missing values on purpose.12 min
  3. Checkpoint: trace and cross-checkCheck formulas by tracing their inputs and cross-checking totals.12 min
Level 4Summaries and ChartsMembership · 3 lessons
  1. Turn ranges into tablesUse Excel tables for filtering, structured references and ranges that grow.11 min
  2. Summaries with PivotTablesSummarize data with a PivotTable instead of hand-built totals.12 min
  3. Checkpoint: charts that don't misleadKnow how truncated axes exaggerate differences, and handle a request to “make it look better”.12 min
Level 5A Workbook You Can TrustMembership · 3 lessons
  1. Inputs, calculations, outputsStructure a workbook so anyone can see what's typed, what's calculated and what's reported.11 min
  2. Review before you relyRun a short review before a spreadsheet feeds a decision.12 min
  3. Capstone: a workbook you can trustRebuild your key spreadsheet with every habit from the path.13 min
FREE

Level 1 is open.

Membership opens every other level of this path.

See membership
AFTER THE CORE

Keep going where this path leads.

Code for Non-CodersFormulas as programs, automation and clean data · 2h 59m
Think Like a Scientist: Studies, Numbers and HeadlinesRead the numbers behind the charts · 2h 59m