Transcript Unit 9 – Spreadsheet Development

Unit 9 – Spreadsheet
Development
{
Understanding the uses of spreadsheets and the
features available in spreadsheet software packages
Designed to carry out calculations quickly and
accurately
 Aim to display the results in an easy-to-understand
way
 Allow users to make changes to the data that will
automatically recalculate the results

What is a spreadsheet?






Using the following headings for ideas, can
you explain reasons why organisations would
use spreadsheets:
Improve productivity and accuracy
Support decision making
Present information clearly and effectively
Perform calculations and help with analysing
data
Manipulate large data sets
Reasons why spreadsheets
are used in organisations


Important for commercial activities to be
accurate, including the results of all
calculations for invoices, salaries and tax
returns.
In an increasingly competitive world, it is also
important that companies strive to be
productive and not waste time or resources
Improve productivity and
accuracy




Managers make decisions all the time. E.g. what
products to make and/or sell and how to market
them.
In order to make good decisions, managers need
good information and this will often come from a
spreadsheet.
Spreadsheets provide a number of specialist
techniques that help the user make decisions.
A common scenario is through the use of
modelling. This is where a user can set up a model
of how the situation behaves using equations, and
then changes the value of particular cells, allowing
them to see the impact of changes.
Support Decision Making


Effective presentation of information improves
communication between staff, suppliers and
customers.
Spreadsheets have powerful and flexible tools
that can convert volumes of raw numeric data
into more easily understood formats such as
tables or charts.
Present information
clearly and effectively



Decision making in organisations may require
many complex calculations and then analysis
of the data.
Spreadsheets break down complex
information into more readily understandable
forms and have tools to enable data analysis.
This allows an organisation to see longer term
trends in buying patterns
Perform calculations and
help with analysing data



A Microsoft Excel 2010 worksheet has up to
1,048,576 rows by 16,384 columns and a
workbook can have multiple worksheets.
This allows it to handle large volumes of data.
However it can require careful design and use
of tools to manipulate such large volumes of
data
Manipulate large data sets