TABLE OF CONTENTS Prototypes may be necessary to understand what is really needed.
Spreadsheet tools can be used for prototypes and for fully functional purposes.
Prototypes need not be too expensive, but fully operational tools will not be cheap.
In earlier chapters, we discussed the issues associated with custom systems and how one idea to help make the APS acquisition easier is to use a prototype. A spreadsheet tool like Excel can be used for this purpose. We also talked about various ways to improve production control and occasionally noted the possible application of spreadsheet tools.
There are five types of things that you can use spreadsheet tools for:
You can use them for the simple purpose of gathering data, the inputs and outputs, and creating mock-ups of reports. This is one level of prototyping and shows vendors what is available and what is needed. We will not discuss this use as it is pretty obvious what you can and should do.
You can use spreadsheet tools as secondary data repositories, calculators, and report generators. You can usually export or copy data from ERP and APS tools in spreadsheet format or as text files and then use them in other spreadsheets. There are many unique and special reports that you are asked to generate, and most planners and schedulers have a whole bunch of spreadsheets lying around. You probably have at least a half dozen that you use each day, even if you have an...
