TABLE OF CONTENTS The most popularly claimed pitfall of planning concerns commitment. The assumption is that with the support and participation of the top management, all will be well. But the questions must be asked: well with what and well for whom? For planners? To be sure. But for the organisation?
Henry Mintzberg, The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning, 1994.
Whether a spreadsheet is being developed as a forecasting plan, a profit and loss account or a marketing plan it is essential that due care and attention be given to the design and structure of the plan. Establishing some rules as to how all the spreadsheets in a department or organisation are developed enables different people to look at different plans and feel familiar with the layout, style, reports, charts, etc. This is in much the same way as users feel familiar with software applications that have a similar interface such as those in the Microsoft Office suite of products.
The objectives of good design in spreadsheet terms are exactly the same as those required for any other software development:
To ensure that the spreadsheet is as error free as possible
To ensure that the spreadsheet can be used without much training or control
To minimise the work required to enhance or change the spreadsheet.
If care is taken to ensure sound structure and good design, a spreadsheet will be straightforward to develop, easy to read, simple to use, not difficult to change and will produce the required results.
