Generating large numbers of partitions using Excel

Quite often when I'm doing proof-of-concept type work I find myself in the situation where I need to build a cube with near-production data volumes, and in order to make sure that performance is good I have to partition that cube. However setting up tens or even possibly hundreds of partitions in BIDS manually is no-one's idea of fun, so how can you automate this process easily? If you're using a SQL Server datasource then you should try using the functionality built into the Analysis Services Stored Procedure Project:
http://www.codeplex.com/ASStoredProcedures/Wiki/View.aspx?title=Partition&referringTitle=Home

But what if you're using an Oracle datasource or hit a bug with the ASSP code? Most consultants have a preferred method (such as their own custom code, or SSIS packages) but I thought I'd blog about the most commonly used approach which is to use Excel. Here are the steps: