What Is a Spreadsheet Application?

Good Evening Webies, in this post i'm just giving brief introduction of spreadsheet applications,Understanding the difference between a spreadsheet user and a spreadsheet developer,Classifying spreadsheet users to help you conceptualize the audience for your applications,Discussing why people use spreadsheets

Spreadsheet Applications

A spreadsheet application is a spreadsheet file (or group of related
files) that is designed so that someone other than the developer can perform useful work without
extensive training. According to this definition, most of the spreadsheet files that you’ve developed
probably don’t qualify as spreadsheet applications. You may have dozens or hundreds of
spreadsheet files on your hard drive, but it’s a safe bet that most of them aren’t really designed
for others to use.
A good spreadsheet application has the following characteristics:
1)It enables the end user to perform a task that he or she probably would not be able to do
otherwise.
2) It provides the appropriate solution to the problem. (A spreadsheet environment isn’t
always the optimal approach.)
3)It accomplishes what it is supposed to do. This prerequisite may be obvious, but it’s not
at all uncommon for applications to fail this test.
It produces accurate results and is free of bugs.
4) It uses appropriate and efficient methods and algorithms to accomplish its job.
5) It traps errors before the user is forced to deal with them.

Note that errors and bugs are not the same. Attempting to divide by zero is an error,
whereas failure to identify that error before it occurs is a bug.

6) It does not allow the user to delete or modify important components accidentally (or
intentionally).
7) Its user interface is clear and consistent so that the user always knows how to proceed.
8) Its formulas, macros, and user interface elements are well documented, allowing for subsequent
changes, if necessary.
9) It is designed so that it can be modified in simple ways without making major changes. A
basic fact of life is that a user’s needs change over time.
10) It has an easily accessible help system that provides useful information on at least the
major procedures.
11) It is designed to be portable and to run on any system that has the proper software (in
this case, a copy of the appropriate version of Excel).

It should come as no surprise that it is possible to create spreadsheet applications for many different
usage levels, ranging from simple fill-in-the-blank templates to extremely complex applications
that use a custom interface and that may not even look like spreadsheets.

The Developer and the End User

I’ve already used the terms developer and end user, and you will see them frequently throughout
this book. Because you’ve gotten this far, I think I can safely assume that you’re either a spreadsheet
application developer or a potential developer.
My definitions regarding developers and end users are simple. The person who creates the
spreadsheet application is the developer. For joint projects, there are multiple developers: a
development team. The person who uses the results of the developer’s spreadsheet programming
efforts is the end user (which I often shorten to simply user). In many cases, there will be
multiple end users, and often the developer is one of the users.

Who are developers? What do they do?

I’ve spent about 20 years trading methodologies and hanging out (usually in a virtual manner
online) with the motley crew of folks who call themselves spreadsheet developers. I divide them
into two primary groups:

*) Insiders are developers who are intimately involved with the users and thoroughly understand
their needs. In many cases, these developers are also users of the application.
Often, they develop an application in response to a particular problem.
*) Outsiders are developers who are hired to produce a solution to a problem. In most
cases, developers in this category are familiar with the business in general but not with
the specifics of the application they are developing. In other cases, these developers are
already employed by the company that requests the application (but they normally work
in a different department).

Some developers devote all their time to development efforts. These developers may be either
insiders or outsiders. A fair number of consultants (outsiders) make a decent living developing
spreadsheet applications on a freelance basis.
Other spreadsheet developers don’t work full time at the task and may not even realize they are
developing spreadsheet applications. These developers are often office computer gurus who
seem to know everything about computers and software. These folks often create spreadsheet
applications as a way to make their lives easier — the time spent developing a well-designed
application for others can often save hours of training time and can greatly reduce the time spent
answering others’ questions.
Spreadsheet developers are typically involved in the following activities, often performing most
or all of each task on their own:
􀁨 Determining the needs of the user
􀁨 Planning an application that meets these needs
􀁨 Determining the most appropriate user interface
􀁨 Creating the spreadsheet, formulas, macros, and user interface
􀁨 Testing the application under all reasonable sets of conditions
􀁨 Making the application relatively user-friendly (often based on results from the testing)
􀁨 Making the application aesthetically appealing and intuitive
􀁨 Documenting the development effort
􀁨 Distributing the application to users
􀁨 Updating the application if and when it’s necessary

Developers must have a thorough understanding of their development environment (in this case,
Excel). And there’s certainly a lot to know when it comes to Excel. Developing nontrivial spreadsheet
applications with Excel requires an in-depth knowledge of formulas, functions, macros
custom dialog boxes, user interface elements, and add-ins. Most Excel users, of course, don’t
meet these qualifications and have no intention of ever learning these details — which brings me
to the next topic: classifying spreadsheet users.

Classifying spreadsheet users

Over the years, I’ve found that it’s often useful to classify people who use spreadsheets (including
both developers and end users) along two dimensions: their degree of experience with
spreadsheets and their interest in learning about spreadsheets.
To keep things simple, each of these two dimensions has three levels. These levels can be combined
in nine combinations, which are shown in Table 5-1. In reality, only seven segments are
worth thinking about because both moderately experienced and very experienced spreadsheet
users generally have at least some interest in spreadsheets. (After all, that’s what motivated them
to get their experience.) Users who have a lot of spreadsheet experience and a low level of interest
would make very bad developers.

It should be clear that spreadsheet developers must have a great deal of experience with spreadsheets
as well as a high interest in spreadsheets. Those with little spreadsheet experience but a
great deal of interest are potential developers. All they need is more experience. If you’re reading
this book, you probably fall into one of the boxes in the last column of the table.

The audience for spreadsheet applications

The remaining segments in the preceding table comprise spreadsheet end users, whom you can
think of as the consumers of spreadsheet applications. When you develop a spreadsheet application
for others to use, you need to know which of these groups of people will actually be using
your application.
Users with little experience and no interest in learning more about spreadsheets make up a large
percentage of all spreadsheet users, probably the largest group of all. These are the people who
need to use a spreadsheet for their jobs but who view the spreadsheet simply as a means to an
end. Typically, they know very little about computers and software, and they usually have no
interest in learning anything more than what’s required to get their work done. They might even
feel a bit intimidated by computers. Often, these users don’t even know which version of Excel
they use, and they are largely unfamiliar with what it can do. Obviously, applications developed
for this group must be user-friendly. By that I mean straightforward, unintimidating, easy to use,
and as foolproof as possible.

From the developer’s point of view, a more interesting group is comprised of users who have little
or moderate spreadsheet experience but who are interested in learning more. These users
understand the concept of formulas, use worksheet functions, and generally have a good idea of
what the product is capable of doing. These users generally appreciate the work that you put
into an application and are often impressed by your efforts. Even better, they’ll often make excellent
suggestions for improving your applications. Applications developed for this group should
also be user-friendly, but they can also be more complex and customizable than applications
designed for the less experienced and less interested groups.

Solving Problems with Excel

In the previous sections, I cover the basic concept of a spreadsheet application, discuss the end
users and developers of such applications, and even attempt to figure out why people use
spreadsheets at all. Now, it’s time to take a look at the types of tasks that are appropriate for
spreadsheet applications.
You may already have a good idea of the types of tasks for which you can use a spreadsheet.
Traditionally, spreadsheet software has been used for numerical applications that are largely
interactive. Corporate budgets are an excellent example of this interactivity. After the model has
been set up (that is, after formulas have been developed), working with a budget is simply a
matter of plugging in amounts and observing the bottom-line totals. Often, budgeters simply
need to allocate fixed resources among various activities and present the results in a reasonably
attractive (or at least legible) format. Excel, of course, is ideal for this scenario.
Budget-type problems, however, probably account for only a small percentage of your spreadsheet-
development time. If you’re like me, you’ve learned that uses for Excel can often extend
well beyond the types of tasks for which spreadsheets were originally designed.
Here are just a few examples of nontraditional ways that you can use Excel:
􀁨 As a presentation device: For example, with minimal effort, you can create an attractive,
interactive, on-screen slide show with only Excel. PowerPoint is a better choice, but Excel
will do in a pinch.
􀁨 As a data-entry tool: For repetitive data-entry tasks, a spreadsheet is often the most efficient
route to take. You can then export the data to a variety of formats for use in other programs.
􀁨 As a database manager: If you’re dealing with a fairly small amount of data, you may find
it much easier to manage it using Excel rather than a program like Access.
􀁨 As a forms generator: For creating attractive printed forms, many find it easier to use
Excel’s formatting capabilities than to learn a desktop publishing package.
􀁨 As a text processor: Excel’s text functions and macro capability enable you to manipulate
text in ways that are impossible using a word processor.
􀁨 As a platform for simple games: Clearly, Excel was not designed with gaming in mind.
However, I’ve downloaded (and written) some interesting strategy games by using the
tools found in Excel and other spreadsheets.

You can probably think of many more examples for this list.
Ironically, the versatility of spreadsheets is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s tempting to
try to use a spreadsheet for every problem that crops up. On the other hand, you’ll often be spinning
your wheels by trying to use a spreadsheet for a problem that’s better suited for a different
solution.

I will give information about Basic Spreadsheet Types in next article, so good night Guys.....