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Automated Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation Creation

The Software Maestro
Mar 22, 2017
4 min read

Updated: Feb 7

A man stressfully holds his head in his hands while staring at a computer screen.

Using customized Visual Basic for Application (VBA) scripts to build dynamic, data-driven Microsoft PowerPoint (PPT) slides

A Not-So-Uncommon Scenario

While working with large sets of data, in this case thousands of line items with dozens of columns, you are regularly tasked with pulling together a subset of this data into some PowerPoint slides for a meeting with the client and/or manager. Today you’ve been asked to produce these PowerPoint slides once again.

You sink in your chair because you recall the last few times you had to complete this task; all of the repetitive steps to build the slides took HOURS to complete!

Time to call home to let them know you'll be late for dinner.

Let's Get to Work

New slide... open Excel, copy content, switch to PowerPoint, paste content, format content, switch back to Excel, copy content, switch to PowerPoint, paste content, format content

Repeat

New slide... open Excel, copy content, switch to PowerPoint, paste content, format content, switch back to Excel, copy content, switch to PowerPoint, paste content, format content

Repeat

New slide... open Excel, copy content, switch to PowerPoint, paste content, format content, switch back to Excel, copy content, switch to PowerPoint, paste content, format content

Repeat

What's THIS!?!? You've got to be kidding me!!! An email with last-minute updates to content and formatting preferences!?!? This is going to get old real quick! I'm starting to feel catatonic!

Nearing completion, you realize that you're talking to yourself once again…

Am I completely sure I've copied over all of the data accurately?

Hmmm. I hope so!

Does the formatting appear consistent with my company's and client's presentation standards?

Well, sorta'.

Could I have better spent my time on other tasks and activities?

Absolutely!

Scenarios like this are part of the nature of many business environments

We work with large sets of data and may need to report on its contents and conclusions on a fairly regular frequency. Sometimes those reports are informal emails but often consist of more formal products like PowerPoint presentation and/or type-written reports. The task of reporting that data should not be an inefficient use of time that could be better spent providing the expert analysis that your company and client expects from you.

Hand holding a lit bulb next to bold text "WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER" on a chalkboard background, symbolizing innovation.

There's an appropriate saying for times like this... "Work smarter, not harder"!

The Microsoft Suite of products (Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Word, Outlook, Project, and many others) already possess the capabilities needed to reach a smarter solution. They are designed to work together; applications can manipulate/control other applications to coordinate activities.

Rapid-development of custom tools that utilize these existing capabilities can quickly and effectively automate the collection, sorting, manipulation, and presentation of data.

In reference to an actual automation tool developed and utilized within the NASA Constellation Program:

Data from a MS Excel spreadsheet (containing over 18,000 rows of data and spanning over 60 columns) was filtered, collected, and sorted prior to being transferred to a customized PowerPoint template.
Instead of taking 8 solid hours to manually build the needed PowerPoint slides (a known, measured value from prior manual engagements), the automated solution produced over 80 slides and was finished in less than 10 minutes.
The automated solution works in the background while you check your emails, make a phone call, visit a client website, speak with a colleague, or while you grab a cup of coffee and warm up your lunch.

The referenced solution developed for our NASA clients, with the automated output products serving as new interim reports as well as final deliverable content, was estimated to save NASA over 2,100 man-hours over the course of the program. In addition to the time and cost savings, the quality and quantity of the output products was improved.

Does this scenario sound familiar? Are you faced with the pain of producing repetitive reports?

Almost all of us, at some point, are faced with the scenario presented above. When, not if, this occurs, ask yourself what other value-added activities you could be doing if you weren't working as some sort of "PowerPoint Commando" or "MS Word Jockey". Some value-added activity examples that come to mind...

Doing more in-depth analysis of the data (gaining insights from the data, not just being a human data-mover)
Improving the quality of your output products because the lead-time to produce them is drastically reduced
Demonstrate innovative and efficient process enhancements that have measurable time and cost savings
Conducting more effective client relationship management (CRM) that will improve the working environment and increase the probability of follow-on work
Addressing other business development and marketing activities
Working on personal professional development
Managing your team members
Taking the time savings and doing something completely personal and non-work related (family time, catching a movie, playing a sport, read a book, etc.)
And so much more!