Excel Mastery (Cohort)

A structured cohort that takes participants from the fundamentals of formulas through pivot tables, data cleaning, and dashboard creation. We emphasize QA habits that prevent errors and keep reporting trustworthy. By the end, you’ll design scalable workbooks, communicate insights clearly, and pass real-world checks in finance, operations, and decision support.

Formulas Pivot Tables Data Cleaning Dashboards QA & Governance
Apply for next cohort View syllabus
Excel cohort: dashboards, pivots, and QA checks

Who it’s for

  • Analysts upgrading from basics to reliable reporting.
  • Operators in finance, supply chain, and healthcare ops.
  • Managers who audit spreadsheets and need guardrails.

Outcomes

  • Fluent with references, LOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, SUMIFS.
  • Clean, deduplicate, and reshape data without breaking lineage.
  • Pivot tables that stand up to slicing and refreshes.
  • Interactive dashboards with clear narratives and KPIs.
  • QA toolkit: tests, checks, and change-log discipline.

Learning Path

Week 1

Core Formulas

Accuracy first

  • Absolute/relative refs; named ranges.
  • IF/IFS, SWITCH, TEXT functions, DATE math.
  • Lookup patterns: XLOOKUP vs. INDEX/MATCH.
  • QA: test sheets, sample vs. expected outputs.
Week 2

Data Cleaning

From messy to modeled

  • TRIM/CLEAN, TEXTSPLIT, TEXTBEFORE/AFTER.
  • Remove duplicates, standardize categories.
  • Power Query intro (import, merge, append).
  • QA: lineage notes & reproducible steps.
Week 3

Pivot Mastery

Slice with confidence

  • Calculated fields/items, groupings, show values as %.
  • Slicers, timelines, and multi-pivot dashboards.
  • QA: pivot refresh tests, totals reconciliation.
Week 4

Analytics Patterns

From numbers to signals

  • Rolling averages, cohort logic, rank & window tricks.
  • Goal seek & solver for simple optimization.
  • QA: edge-case stress tests, scenario tabs.
Week 5

Dashboards

Design for decisions

  • Layout systems; KPI hierarchies; color/contrast rules.
  • Dynamic charts (named ranges, FILTER, CHOOSECOLS).
  • QA: performance checks, broken-link finder.
Week 6

Governance & Handover

Workbooks that survive

  • Protection, access tiers, change logs.
  • Documentation mini-SOP; readme on the first sheet.
  • Handover drill: fresh data → refresh → validate → publish.

Capstone Projects

Finance Ops

Revenue & margin tracker

  • Multi-sheet model with pivots and KPI dashboard.
  • Variance analysis with drill-through.
  • QA pack: test cases + reconciliation tab.

Sales & CRM

Pipeline & conversion

  • Lead stages, win-rates, cohort retention.
  • Segment slicers and funnel visuals.
  • Refresh discipline & ownership notes.

Operations

Inventory & SLAs

  • Stock aging, reorder signals, service levels.
  • Exception list with conditional alerts.
  • Audit: who changed what, when.

QA Habits That Stick

  • Test tabs: tiny inputs → expected outputs.
  • Named ranges: kill magic cell references.
  • Checks: row counts, totals, duplicate guards.
  • Change log: date, author, intent, sheet, range.
  • Readme first: inputs, refresh order, contacts.
Reliability Auditability Maintainability
QA checklist and workbook structure

Format

  • 6 weeks · 2 sessions/week · 90 minutes each.
  • Live demos + guided labs + feedback.
  • Office hours and async Q&A.

Requirements

  • Excel (recent version) or 365.
  • Comfort with basic formulas.
  • Sample datasets provided.

Assessment & Badge

  • Weekly checks + capstone review.
  • Rubric: accuracy, design, refreshability.
  • Completion badge & verifier link.

FAQ

Is this beginner-friendly?

Yes. We start with fundamentals but move quickly. The QA habits help both beginners and seasoned users ship sturdy workbooks.

Do you cover Power Query/Power Pivot?

Power Query is introduced in Week 2 for repeatable cleaning; optional Power Pivot pointers are provided for those on suitable licenses.

Join the next cohort.

Build spreadsheets that are fast, explainable, and hard to break.

Apply now