The aggregation you just changed
Each glowing block in the 3D cube is one data cell (say, monthly sales). The HUD shows a live aggregation. Switching the button changes the formula applied to exactly the cells that pass your filter — the same thing a pivot table does under the hood.
SUM
=SUM(B2:B13) adds a range. The workhorse of every budget and revenue total.
AVERAGE
=AVERAGE(B2:B13) divides the sum by the count of numbers, ignoring blanks.
MAX / MIN
=MAX(B2:B13) finds the peak. Pairs with MATCH to answer "which month was best?"
COUNT
=COUNTIF(B2:B13,">50") counts cells meeting a condition — the filter slider models exactly this.
The three formulas that unlock dashboards
1. IF — logic in a cell:
2. VLOOKUP / XLOOKUP — join two tables by a key (e.g., pull a price from a product list):
3. SUMIF / SUMIFS — conditional totals, the engine of any summary sheet:
Worked example: Suppose you have 12 months of sales: 420, 380, 510, 640, 300, 590, 720, 480, 550, 610, 460, 700. SUM = 6,360; AVERAGE = 530; MAX = 720; COUNTIF(>500) = 7. If AI writes these for you, verifying that AVERAGE = SUM ÷ 12 = 530 is your five-second sanity check.
Using AI to draft — then verifying
Describe the shape
Tell the AI your columns, the calculation you want, and where results go. Specific inputs → correct formulas.
Spot-check the math
Recompute one row by hand. If SUM of a small range matches, trust the pattern; if not, the formula's range or logic is off.
Check the ranges
The most common AI (and human) error is an off-by-one range — B2:B12 when you meant B2:B13. Always confirm the last row.