A clearer view of variation
Google Sheets is adding native box-and-whisker charts, announced October 22. Users select numeric observations and Sheets calculates the distribution statistics, with options for displaying outliers and the mean. The chart settings also offer alternative quartile conventions.
Google says this update preserves Excel box plots during import and lets Sheets users export them as editable Excel charts. CGH has not tested whether particular workbooks retain every formatting detail.
When users can expect it
The company lists all Workspace customers and personal Google accounts as eligible. Rapid Release rollout began October 22 and can take 15 days. Scheduled Release begins November 6 with the same rollout window. Google lists no administrator control for the feature.
The linked help page explains selecting cells, inserting a chart and changing its type in the chart editor. It is general chart guidance; the dated announcement supplies the specific box-plot and Excel-compatibility claims.
CGH perspective
Averages can hide whether most observations cluster together or a few unusual values dominate the result. For example, a team comparing completion times could use a distribution chart to ask whether a process became more consistent. The chart cannot decide whether an unusual observation is an error or an important event. Keep the underlying rows available, document the quartile setting and reopen a sample exported workbook before circulating a report across both spreadsheet applications.