To create a pivot table in Excel, you first need to have your raw dataset organized in an Excel worksheet with headers in the first row identifying each column. The data should have consistent field names that you can use to categorize and group the data. Make sure any fields you want to analyze or filter on are in their own columns.

Once your dataset is organized, select any cell within the dataset. Go to the Insert tab at the top of the Excel window and click PivotTable. This will launch the Create PivotTable window. You can either select a New Worksheet option to place the pivot table on its own sheet or select an Existing Worksheet and select where you want to place the pivot table.

For this example, select New Worksheet and click OK. This will open a new sheet with your pivot table fields pane displayed on the right side. By default, it will add all the fields from your source data range to the Rows, Columns, Values areas at the top.

Now you can customize the pivot table by dragging and dropping fields between areas. For example, if your data was sales transactions and you wanted to analyze total sales by product category and year, you would drag the “Product Category” field to the Rows area and the “Year” field to the Columns area. Then drag the “Sales Amount” field to the Values area.

This will cross tabulate all the product categories as row headings across the column years showing the total sales amount for each category/year combination. The pivot table is dynamically linked to the source data, so any changes to the source will be automatically reflected in the pivot table.

You can rearrange and sort the fields in each area by clicking the dropdowns that appear when you hover over a field. For example, you may want to sort the row categories alphabetically. You can also add fields to multiple areas like Rows and Columns for a more complex analysis.

To filter the data in the pivot table, click anywhere inside the table body. Go to the PivotTable Tools Options tab that appears above and click the Filter drop down box below any field name in the report filter pane. Here you can select specific items to include or exclude from the analysis.

For example, you may want to only include sales from 2018-2020 by category to analyze recent trends. Pivoting and filtering allows you to quickly analyze your data from different perspectives without having to rewrite formulas or create additional tables.

You can also customize the pivot table’s layout, style, subtotals, and field settings using additional options on the Design and Layout tabs of the PivotTable Tools ribbon. Common additional features include sorting data in the table, conditional formatting, calculated fields/items, grouping dates, and pivot charts.

All of these actions allow you to extract more meaningful insights from your raw data in an interactive way. Once your pivot table is formatted how you want, you can refresh it by going to the Analyze tab and clicking Refresh anytime the source data is updated. Pivot tables are a very powerful tool for simplifying data analysis and discovery in Excel.

Some additional tips for effective pivot tables include:

Give the pivot table source data its own dedicated worksheet tab for easy reference later on.

Use clear, consistent field names that indicate what type of data each column contains.

Consider additional calculated fields for metrics like averages, percentages, and trends over time.

Filter to only show the most meaningful or relevant parts of the analysis at a time for better focus.

Add descriptive Report Filters to let users dynamically choose subsets of data interactively.

Combine multiple pivot tables on a dashboard worksheettab to compare analyses side by side.

Link pivot charts to visualizetrends and relationships not obvious from the table alone.

Save pivot table reports as their own snapshot files to share findings with stakeholders.

With well structured source data and thoughtful design of the pivot table layout, filters and fields, you can gain powerful insights from your organization’s information that would be very difficult to uncover otherwise. Pivot tables allow you to dramatically simplify analysis and reporting from your Excel data.