Choose, build and explain a chart
Keep original records, meaningful encodings and current workbook calculations connected.
Start with cell addresses and ordinary formulas. Eleven original steps connect category comparisons, trends, parts, stacks, mixed units, distributions, numeric pairs, bubble area and an editable workbook capstone. Move freely between steps; save only a checked current attempt.
0 of 10 historical passing attempts saved on this device.
Step 1
Compare complete categories with columns →
A column compares category totals on a common zero-based scale. Record filters select observations before aggregation; credits retain their signs.
Before this step: Read source rows and distinguish a category from a measure.
Step 2
Follow a monthly mean without treating labels as coordinates →
A line connects ordered monthly categories. Each mean uses its own original observations; category spacing is not a numeric X coordinate.
Before this step: Compare category totals and distinguish Sum from Average.
Step 3
Explain a whole with nonnegative additive parts →
A doughnut divides a positive total into additive nonnegative category amounts. Means, negative parts and an all-zero whole need a different chart, not absolute-value conversion.
Before this step: Understand selected-record totals.
Step 4
Keep signed components attached to each month →
A raw stack retains separate positive and negative components. Positive and negative extents are computed independently; group means are not additive parts.
Before this step: Distinguish additive amounts from group means.
Step 5
Compare amount and count with explicit units →
Columns and a line can share categories and source records without sharing measurement units. A separate count axis must remain labeled; similar-looking slopes do not establish causality.
Before this step: Read monthly category amounts and counts.
Step 6
Reconcile numeric intervals and both tails →
Each interval excludes its lower bound and includes its upper bound. Underflow and overflow retain observations outside the regular intervals; numeric zero remains an observation.
Before this step: Know the difference between categories and numeric observations.
Step 7
Order complete contributions before accumulating shares →
Pareto ordering keeps category and contribution together. Cumulative shares use that ordered total; count and amount describe different questions. Unsupported negative contribution totals are explained rather than hidden.
Before this step: Keep labels attached to their numeric amounts.
Step 8
Keep numeric pairs, guarded fits and prediction limits →
Each numeric X/Y pair stays on one record. A fitted line uses the selected paired population; constant X cannot identify a slope, and a prediction outside the observed X span is extrapolation.
Before this step: Distinguish category spacing from numeric coordinates.
Step 9
Encode a third value as area without losing records →
Bubble area represents size; radius is proportional to the square root of size. A zero-size record retains coordinates and its original identity even when its area is zero.
Before this step: Keep each numeric X/Y pair together.
Step 10
Bind an editable two-axis report to its current workbook →
An editable chart reads explicit worksheet ranges. Source edits invalidate old proofs. Current values, series names, a labeled amount/count axis and a separate percent axis must travel with the checked workbook.
Before this step: Complete interval and Pareto contribution checks.
Saved records contain unit, version, check/scenario counts and date only. They do not restore worksheet data or certify mastery. Native Excel rendering, recalculation and edit/save require separate checks.