Averages Done Right in Excel: Weighted Means, Averages of Rates & Ratios, Geometric Growth, Time-Weighted Balances & the Average-of-Averages Trap
Pick and build the right average every time. You will compute weighted averages with SUMPRODUCT, average percentages and rates correctly, use harmonic and geometric means where they belong, average balances over time, avoid the average-of-averages trap and build a weighted median, with every cell checked as you go.
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About this course
In this course you work as the analyst of a fictional home and garden chain and calculate the right average for every request. You compute weighted unit costs and weighted scores with SUMPRODUCT divided by SUM, pool conversion rates and margins from totals instead of averaging ratios, and weight group averages by their sizes to escape the average-of-averages trap. You find true average speeds and prices paid with the harmonic mean, average growth with the geometric mean built from POWER and PRODUCT, and time-weighted balances from change dates. Finally you build moving and weighted moving averages, a weighted median from cumulative units and a chart comparing four averages.
Lessons
- Weighted Averages: SUMPRODUCT ÷ SUM, Weighted Unit Costs, Weighted Scores & the 100 % Check Pro
- Averaging Percentages & Ratios: Pooled Rates vs the AVERAGE of Rates Pro
- The Average-of-Averages Trap: Group Sizes, the True Overall Mean & Group Means from Raw Rows Pro
- Rates & the Harmonic Mean: Average Speed, Weighted Rates & Equal-Spend Buying Pro
- Growth & the Geometric Mean: Growth Rates, Average Annual Growth & Why AVERAGE Overstates It Pro
- Time-Weighted Averages: Days at Each Balance, the Average Balance & Interest on It Pro
- Moving & Weighted Moving Averages: 3- and 5-Week Windows, Linear Weights & the Lag Pro
- Weighted Median & the Averages Dashboard: Cumulative Weights, Mean vs Median & a Chart Pro