The purpose of this exercise is to use the Excel skills you have acquired thus far , and apply them to an analysis of a business scenario , of your choice . This will consist of preparing the groundwork in Excel ( importing data , preparing the analysis using tables , charts , graphs , pivot tables , etc .) and preparing a memo to your management , explaining your three separate analysis . This is different than prior iLab assignments , in that there are no specific instructions as to what type of analysis ( i . e ., Sales / Units / discounts by Country / Rep / Product / Date / Category , etc .) is to be performed . The general requirement is for you to prepare a minimum of three discrete analyses and perform a write-up to management , using the memo format provided . Remember that you are making a professional analysis and presentation , so be sure to give some thought to what you are trying to recommend to management , and why . STEP 1 : Import Your Data Into Excel The ultimate goal is to prepare a memo to management , using the Week 6 iLab Memo Template . Before you begin working with Excel , it might be a good idea to take a look at this template , so that you can envision your end results . In this first step you will open Excel and import the data from Week 6 iLab Sales Data . This is a comma delimited file with column headers , and you should be sure to format the " Order Date " as a date type column . Remember to save the file as an Excel workbook , using the naming convention shown above . I don ' t believe there is any reason to perform a spell check , as there are just too many unique names of products in this data . Using a company name of your choice , format this data sheet in a professional looking manner . Given the fact that you have a unit price and quantity , it might help you to create another column to show the gross revenue . STEP 2 : Convert Data to a Table Format In this step , create a new worksheet , using a copy of your original data . Convert the data to a table format . You may choose to use this table to begin your analysis , through the use of sorting , filters , subtotals , and so on . If you choose to do so , be sure to include an appropriate page title and sheet name to describe your work .