Sensitivity Chart Creator

Sensitivity Chart Creator
A charting add-in product for Microsoft® Excel®

The Sensitivity Chart Creator is an easy to use, menu driven add-in that creates sensitivity charts like the following:

These charts are also know as tornado charts due to their appearance.  They show the sensitivity of key output variables, in this case Net Present Value, to key input cells (shipments, variable cost, to volume growth).  If the chart is like the above, with the main then it is called a tornado chart.  If it is rotated 90 degrees, it is called a fishbone chart.

The first step in creating sensitivity charts is to first create an Excel workbook.  This workbook can be as complex or as simple as you need.  The above sensitivity chart was created using a workbook that modeled a proposed investment in a new product manufacturing facility.  It consisted of a set of input cells for shipments, variable cost, and other key variables.  From these values, key output cells such as Net Present Value and return on investment are calculated. 

The Sensitivity Chart Creator has you identify the workbook and key cells in it.  It then creates a premise workbook that stores this information.  In it you can enter labels that are placed at the end of the data points.  The following dialog allows you to decide on the order of the variables in the sensitivity chart:

The next dialog allows you to specify if you want a tornado or a fishbone style chart.  It also lets you specify if the chart is embedded on a worksheet or put on a chartsheet and other key options:

In all cases, a table of data is created listing the input values used and the resulting output values for each output variable that is analyzed: