Spreadsheet Information Systems Are Essential To Business
Spreadsheet Information Systems Are Essential To Business
Spreadsheet Information Systems Are Essential To Business
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SPREADSHEET INFORMATION
SYSTEMS ARE ESSENTIAL TO
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INTRODUCTION
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CONTRIBUTIONS
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METHODOLOGY
•By using a snowball sample, asking contacts in industry about their use of
spreadsheets, or people they knew who used spreadsheets. Most interviews were
conducted on the phone, with a few conducted in the subjects’ place of work. Most
interviews were recorded on audiotape. These interviews are performed under
human subjects research protocols approved by our universities, including a
mandatory “informed consent”document.
•Research protocols require that we not collect sensitive information, divulge
personally identifiable information, nor divulge the name of the subjects’
organizations. It enhance confidentiality, & randomly assigned the gender of the
people we discuss or quote.
•Our subjects work in companies ranging from four employees to the tens of
thousands. They come from corporations, family business, and the non-profit
sector. Our subjects range from CEO to frontline analysts. Their industries
include financial services, consulting, high-tech, heavy industry, travel &
hospitality, software,, Manufacturing, Marketing, Finance, Operations, and Sales.
•Interviews were conversational, guided by a list of questions.
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CLASSIFICATION OF ESSENTIAL SPREADSHEETS
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SPREADSHEETS USED FOR APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Small Soft is a privately-held software start-up with four employees. They sell
a software application package for compiling a business case. This application
is implemented as an Excel spreadsheet, with a couple of dozen sales to date.
The product is implemented as three tightly linked spreadsheets with a total
size of 73 megabytes, accompanied by a 150-page training manual. This
spreadsheet product is the company’s only source of revenue. It is priced at
$30,000, along with ongoing costs for technical support and maintenance
releases. Today, this spreadsheet-based application software is used
several times a day by thousands of people all over the world.
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SPREADSHEETS USED FOR BUSINESS PROCESS
INFRASTRUCTURE
APPLICATION SOFTWARE FOR INTERNAL USE
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SPREADSHEETS USED FOR FINANCIAL RISK
MANAGEMENT
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FOREIGN EXCHANGE HEDGING
BigSoft’s Assistant Treasurer has responsibility for
foreign exchange hedging. He uses a spreadsheet
that he inherited from his predecessor on a monthly
basis to manage the information that is sent to the
bank that executes their hedging contracts.
The spreadsheet takes data from multiple sources
and performs
a complex series of calculations to determine the
proper
hedging values. Without the spreadsheet, BigSoft
would not be able to determine the details of its
hedging plan
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BOND UNDERWRITING
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SPREADSHEETS USED FOR BUSINESS PROCESS
INFRASTRUCTURE
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Project Planning and Management
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Spreadsheet used for Complex
Analytics
ADVANCED ENGINEERING ANALYSIS
Research team analyzed and compared algorithm
outputs using Excel. In some cases needed to generate
complex results in 24 hours to satisfy a demanding
potential customer, and could not have done so
without the spreadsheet.
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Spreadsheet used for Complex
Analytics
PRICING POWER CONTRACTS
Pricing analysis group (PAG) must quickly and
accurately price each proposal.
HOTEL REVENUE MANAGEMENT
Guides critical revenue management decisions, such as
determining room inventory allocations, prices, and
discounts to maximize profitability.
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How prevalent are essential
spreadsheets?
easy to find essential spreadsheets
importance of spreadsheets throughout their
companies.
spreadsheets are commonly used for essential
business activities.
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SPREADSHEETS FUNCTION AS
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Spreadsheets not just for personal use
Can handle important task of information system.
Spreadsheet are no less than programming tools.
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Diversity in Spreadsheet use
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SPREADSHEET DEVELOPMENT
PRACTICES ARE DIVERSE
Formal Development Approaches: The programmers
built a prototype based on the specifications, sought
feedback from users on quality, workflow, and
enhancements.
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Evolution of Work Systems
There is very close identification between work
activities and the spreadsheet that enables those
activities.
spreadsheets serve as the technology that links
together business processes, people, and information
to meet the demands of their (internal or external)
customers.
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Conclusion
Spreadsheet information systems are essential to
business.
Information systems and computer science
researchers have intensively studied traditional
programming.
research has the potential to significantly impact the
practice of millions of spreadsheet developers.
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