Excel Power Tools for Data Analysis

Welcome to Excel Power Tools for Data Analysis. In this four-week course, we introduce Power Query, Power Pivot and Power BI, three power tools for transforming, analysing and presenting data.Excel’s ease and flexibility have long made it a tool of choice for doing data analysis, but it does have some inherent limitations: for one, truly “big” data simply does not fit in a spreadsheet and for another, the process of importing and cleaning data can be a repetitive, time-consuming and error-prone. Over the last few years, Microsoft have worked on transforming the end-to-end experience for analysts, and Excel has undergone a major upgrade with the inclusion of Power Query and Power Pivot.

In this course, we will learn how to use Power Query to automate the process of importing and preparing data for analysis. We will see how Power Pivot revolutionises the actual analysis process by providing us with an analytical database inside the Excel workbook, capable of storing millions of rows, and a powerful modelling language called DAX which allows us to perform advanced analytics on our data. We will finish off by venturing out of Excel and introducing Power BI, which also uses the Power Query and Power BI architecture but allows us to create stunning interactive reports and dashboards.

This is the third course in our Specialization on Data Analytics and Visualization. The previous courses: Excel Fundamentals for Data Analysis and Data Visualization in Excel, cover data preparation, cleaning, visualisation, and creating dashboards. To get the most out of this course we would recommend you do the previous courses or have experience with these topics. In this course we focus on Excel Power Tools, join us for this exciting journey.

Please note that Power Query, Power Pivot and Power BI Desktop are only available on the Windows platform, so Mac users will require Bootcamp running Windows or a Virtual machine with a Window O/S. While Power Query is available as an add-in Excel 2010 and 2013, the tools have changed significantly, and this course has only been designed and tested for Excel 2016 and later. For an optimal experience, we recommend Office 365.

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Syllabus

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week 1
Welcome and critical information
Get and Transform (Power Query)
Week 2
Transforming data in the Query Editor
Week 3
Power Pivot and the Data Model
Week 4
Visualising Data with Power BI

FAQ

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?

Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:

The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.

The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?

When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.

Is financial aid available?

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

What versions of Excel can I use?

This course teaches the Power Query tools available in recent versions of Excel for Windows. We encourage learners to use Excel in the Office 365 suite to get access to these great new features. Most features are available in Excel 2016, and we have provided alternative ways of performing the tasks in this version. Excel 2013, while still supported by Microsoft, has not been tested for this course and is not supported by us. Excel 2010 and prior versions are no longer supported by Microsoft and do not have the necessary features for this course.

Power Query is not available for any version of Excel for Mac.

Reviews

Enjoyed the course and the specialization, the instructors are the best, they facilitate the information. I've learned new skills. and the course is highly recommended. thank you

Pertinent content, well laid out and competent and engaging instructor(s). Some hiccups with accessing the data files. All in all, I highly recommend.

Excellent training on Power BI, even though its only compressed into one course. Looking forward to more data analytics related courses by Macquarie University.

Good Introduction to Power Bi and Power Pivot and New Excel Functionalities for Data Modelling and presenting VIZ