About Josh
My name is Josh Furse, and I am not a data analyst--I am a storyteller and a creative problem solver who just so happens to be fascinated by, well… data! I first discovered my knack for exploring data when I started using Excel to solve problems for a mid-size company called Hickman Label back in 2021. To me, every problem our business encountered was just another puzzle to be solved, and that was where I found both fun and fulfillment in my daily work. It was only after I felt I had pushed Excel to its absolute limit that I started learning SQL, PowerBI, and Python as a means to push the boundaries of exploring, understanding, and visualizing data. As I continue to grow; to learn; to seek new challenges, my goal is to master the craft of data storytelling through technical knowhow and top-tier communication skills, and by doing so, I will not merely inform but empower stakeholders to drive business decisions that are as insightful as they are inspired. Plus, I'll have some fun along the way!
Excel PROJECTS
Below, I have compiled some of my favorite projects from my time with Hickman Label Company. While I now use SQL and PowerBI for personal projects, my work for the company was done solely in Excel, which is what you will see in the following section. All sensitive information (including other company names and dollar amounts) has been changed in the interest of privacy for the companies involved.
Hickman Label KPI Dashboard
This project is a basic KPI dashboard I built for Hickman Label Company. Since the company uses a separate software for tracking sales, this dashboard was intended for metrics that are a bit harder to quantify. The intent of this dashboard was to give the company a bird’s eye view of various aspects of their operations. They could then use this as a guide to answer their own questions and identify problems quickly. The main aspects of this project were production mistakes, safety violations, and delivery timeliness.
How it works
Breakdown
Every data point is manually entered by the relevant supervisor (these go in the Quality, Safety, and Delivery worksheets). In a hidden page, all of this data is consolidated, re-organized, and summarized to gather the necessary KPIs. That data is then displayed on the main worksheet so that it is clean, easy-to-read, and highly dynamic. The original intent was to use PowerBI for this part of the project, but seeing as the company did not have PowerBI Service, anything I created in the desktop application was not of much use to anyone else. In light of this, I opted to design an Excel worksheet that looked and functioned just as well as the real deal (or… at least get as close as possible).
The simple solution to create a dynamic dashboard in Excel is to use PivotTables and PivotCharts, however, the visual appeal of this option is lackluster at best, and the customization options are minimal. By creating hidden tables that respond to the selected date and “view by” options at the top of the dashboard, I was able to customize every inch of the worksheet to fit the company's needs.
Lonestar Logic Expense Tracker
