ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Govt. of Karnataka Affiliated
ADV EXCEL CLASS NOTES

Scenario Manager

Scenario Manager is a What-If Analysis tool in Microsoft Excel that allows users to create and compare multiple sets of input values (scenarios) without changing the original worksheet data.

It is useful when you want to analyze different possibilities such as Best Case, Worst Case, and Expected Case results.


What is Scenario Manager?

Scenario Manager stores different sets of values and shows how those values affect the final result.

Unlike Goal Seek, which changes only one input cell, Scenario Manager can change multiple input cells simultaneously.

Example:
A company wants to see profit under different sales and expense conditions:

  • Best Case Scenario
  • Average Case Scenario
  • Worst Case Scenario

When to Use Scenario Manager

  • Sales Forecasting
  • Budget Planning
  • Profit Analysis
  • Investment Planning
  • Loan Analysis
  • Business Decision Making

Example Dataset

Item Value
Sales 100000
Expenses 60000
Profit =B2-B3

Current Profit = ₹40,000


Creating Scenarios

Scenario 1 – Best Case

Sales Expenses
150000 50000

Profit = ₹100,000

Scenario 2 – Expected Case

Sales Expenses
120000 65000

Profit = ₹55,000

Scenario 3 – Worst Case

Sales Expenses
80000 70000

Profit = ₹10,000


Steps to Create a Scenario

  1. Create a worksheet containing formulas.
  2. Click Data → What-If Analysis → Scenario Manager.
  3. Click Add.
  4. Enter Scenario Name (Best Case).
  5. Select Changing Cells.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Enter values for the scenario.
  8. Click OK.
  9. Repeat for other scenarios.

Scenario Manager Window

Button Purpose
Add Create a new scenario.
Edit Modify an existing scenario.
Delete Remove a scenario.
Show Display selected scenario values.
Summary Generate scenario comparison report.

Creating a Scenario Summary Report

  1. Open Scenario Manager.
  2. Click Summary.
  3. Select the Result Cell (Profit Cell).
  4. Click OK.

Excel creates a new worksheet showing all scenarios side by side for comparison.


Goal Seek vs Scenario Manager

Feature Goal Seek Scenario Manager
Purpose Find required input value. Compare multiple scenarios.
Input Cells One Cell Multiple Cells
Comparison No Yes
Report Generation No Yes

Advantages of Scenario Manager

  • Compare multiple business situations.
  • Supports multiple changing cells.
  • Easy report generation.
  • Useful for forecasting and budgeting.
  • Helps in decision making.