About this chapter
An analyst does not always get to choose the software available to the people who will use the result. Lindquist and Sulewski work within that constraint, showing how Excel supports exploratory analysis, estimation, regression, constrained optimization, and simulation. Pivot tables, Solver, repeated calculations, and automation extend the spreadsheet beyond a place to store numbers, while the discussion keeps its practical limitations in view. The chapter is useful both as a working reference and as an account of how familiar software can support a range of analytical tasks. The choice of a convenient tool still leaves the analyst responsible for choosing an appropriate method.
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Companion reading noteFrom data to a defensible modelCite this contribution
Joseph M. Lindquist; Charles A. Sulewski. (2024). Microsoft Excel: The Universal Tool of Analysis. In Natalie M. Scala & James P. Howard, II (Eds.), Handbook of Military and Defense Operations Research (2nd ed., pp. 21–72). Chapman & Hall/CRC. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003396307-3
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