Comments on: Spreadsheats

By: SJ

SJ — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 00:44:44 +0000

I think your post is rather pointless to put it bluntly. I mean if you have a problem with users using excel for “useless things” then you really don’t understand good software. In any case if a user decides to use excel rather than word or notepad to take down meeting minutes you have to ask yourself why? I don’t think using a software for other purposes than its intended use is really useless. In fact some people base this on good software. Software thats used for other purposes than its original intended purpose… isn’t that why we try to develop flexible useful software?

By: matt m

matt m — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 20:18:25 +0000

I am really getting into Google Spreadsheets-: Multi-user adds a whole new dimension to it, you can see other users updating data in other cells. Fun.

By: Chris Johnston

Chris Johnston — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 05:33:32 +0000

I actually agree with both posts. I think Excel is probably the most successful application ever created. I just don’t think it should be used to record the minutes from a meeting or be the sole tool used in recording the metrics from a particular project.

My argument is not with the tool or the proper use of the tool, it is with all the useless things I see people using it for. It just seems to be ingrained in business people that there computer equals Excel so everything gets done in Excel.

By: JZ

JZ — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 21:52:23 +0000

What a successful business tool - the spreadsheet! It actually has most features needed by the business people, who has completely different view of technology from that of the technical people. Spreadsheet is easy to learn and use - for the basic part; it also can do a lot of complex data analysis other than just recording the data. The speed to process the data is fast, compared to any popular web application. There is no need to learn how to write a program to draw a diagram like the Matlab, however, the savvy users will write some macros. People now talked about the Excel is an excellent example of DSL for the business domain. Of course, it is not a tool for specific purpose.

By: Prashant Gandhi

Prashant Gandhi — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 10:55:52 +0000

Chris,

I think you will find that it is the failure of IT to provide a tool that allows the business users to play around with figures that makes them use it. Put yourself in a position of a trader who has made a number of buys and sells today. It would be ideal if someone told him what his P&L is, what his exposure is and what the trend has been. Unfortunately for the trader, the IT are doing their own stuff building large platforms to cater to all the world’s problems. In the meanwhile, the business has to go on as usual and the spreadsheet seems to be the best compromise.

regards,
Prashant
Batting on behalf of spreadsheet lovers of the world