Excel and Power BI Aceelerator — Lesson 2: Advanced Excel, Pivot Analysis, and Power Query

Learning Objectives

• Build advanced formulas, dynamic analysis, PivotTables, PivotCharts, slicers, and dashboards
• Import, clean, transform, combine, and refresh data with Power Query
• Design repeatable Excel analysis workflows with error handling and refresh controls

Detailed Topics

• Build advanced formulas: Build advanced formulas, dynamic analysis, PivotTables, PivotCharts, slicers, and dashboards
• Import: Import, clean, transform, combine, and refresh data with Power Query
• Design repeatable Excel analysis workflows with error handling and refresh controls: Design repeatable Excel analysis workflows with error handling and refresh controls

Guided Demonstration

1. Review the requirement, environment, dependencies, roles, risks, and expected outcome.
2. Demonstrate the relevant configuration, analysis, code, or administration workflow step by step.
3. Capture settings, outputs, logs, screenshots, calculations, or test evidence.
4. Compare the observed result with the stated acceptance criteria.

Hands-On Activity

Create a Power Query pipeline and an interactive Excel management dashboard.

• Document assumptions and the planned sequence before making changes.
• Complete the activity and preserve evidence of normal and exception behavior.
• Record issues, corrective actions, and reusable operational or development notes.

Troubleshooting Focus

• Separate symptoms from causes and collect evidence before applying a fix.
• Check configuration, permissions, data, dependencies, capacity, connectivity, and recent changes.
• Validate rollback, recovery, support ownership, and user or business impact.

Validation Checklist

• The requirement and expected outcome are clear.
• The selected configuration, design, query, code, or process is documented.
• Normal, boundary, failure, security, and operational conditions are reviewed.
• The result is supported by evidence and the next improvement is prioritized.

Lesson Outcome

Learners can explain and apply Advanced Excel, Pivot Analysis, and Power Query in a realistic scenario and validate the result with documented evidence.