Build a cohort retention workbook from a CSV, with formulas you can audit

Turn a user-activity CSV into an Excel workbook with a retention table, a heatmap and a chart, then trace cells back to the data.

Pluginboard· Posted Oct 26· 5 steps

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Before you start

Add Excel MCP Server in Claude Code with claude mcp add excel --scope user -- uvx excel-mcp-server stdio --allow-dir /path/to/workbooks. It needs uv and no copy of Excel, and --allow-dir keeps it to one folder, so put your CSV there. Install pm-data-analytics with /plugin marketplace add phuryn/pm-skills, then /plugin install pm-data-analytics@pm-skills. Your CSV needs a user id, a signup date and an activity date, one row per activity.

Bring the data in and check it

The server does not silently overwrite an existing workbook, so use a new file name.

Say to Claude

Import [users.csv] into a new workbook [retention.xlsx] on a sheet called Data and make it a table. Tell me the columns, the row count and anything odd, such as blank dates or duplicate rows.

Run the cohort analysis

The command asks what a cohort is and what counts as retained. Answering up front saves a round trip.

Build a cohort retention workbook from a CSV, with formulas you can audit

Before you start

Bring the data in and check it

Run the cohort analysis

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Build a cohort retention workbook from a CSV, with formulas you can audit

Before you start

Bring the data in and check it

Run the cohort analysis

Build the retention sheet

Make it readable

Check three cells

What you get

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