Excel · Formulas · Functions
Excel Formulas for Reliable Decisions
Write formulas that are readable, explainable, and easier to trust during decisions.
This class teaches participants to build and explain formulas rather than copy them blindly. The course moves from syntax to references, common functions, logic, lookup patterns, and text and date cleanup. Every exercise uses supplied workbooks so results can be checked against known source conditions.
Duration2 Days
Who this course is forGovernment professionals and teams that rely on workbook calculations and need formulas that can be explained, copied, checked, and handed off.
What you will learn
- Write formulas by hand, diagnose equals signs, separators, brackets, arguments, and test each piece.
- Control relative, absolute, and mixed references when copying formulas, then verify the copied result.
- Choose common functions, check their arguments and ranges, and validate totals against visible source data.
- Turn written business rules into IF, AND, and OR formulas, test examples, and explain the decision logic.
- Match keys, return intended values, and diagnose missing or plausible but incorrect lookup results.
- Clean imported text and dates with helper formulas, then document assumptions before reuse.
Course modules
- Formula Syntax
- References and Anchors
- Core Functions
- Logic Functions
- Lookup Logic
- Text and Date Functions