93,514 research outputs found
An Empirical Study of End-User Behaviour in Spreadsheet Error Detection & Correction
Very little is known about the process by which end-user developers detect
and correct spreadsheet errors. Any research pertaining to the development of
spreadsheet testing methodologies or auditing tools would benefit from
information on how end-users perform the debugging process in practice.
Thirteen industry-based professionals and thirty-four accounting & finance
students took part in a current ongoing experiment designed to record and
analyse end-user behaviour in spreadsheet error detection and correction.
Professionals significantly outperformed students in correcting certain error
types. Time-based cell activity analysis showed that a strong correlation
exists between the percentage of cells inspected and the number of errors
corrected. The cell activity data was gathered through a purpose written VBA
Excel plug-in that records the time and detail of all cell selection and cell
change actions of individuals.Comment: 12 Pages, 3 Figure
An Insight into Spreadsheet User Behaviour through an Analysis of EuSpRIG Website Statistics
The European Spreadsheet Risks Interest Group (EuSpRIG) has maintained a
website almost since its inception in 2000. We present here longitudinal and
cross-sectional statistics from the website log in order to shed some light
upon end-user activity in the EuSpRIG domain.Comment: 10 Pages, 5 Tables, 2 Colour Figures, ISBN 978-0-9566256-9-
Thinking is Bad: Implications of Human Error Research for Spreadsheet Research and Practice
In the spreadsheet error community, both academics and practitioners
generally have ignored the rich findings produced by a century of human error
research. These findings can suggest ways to reduce errors; we can then test
these suggestions empirically. In addition, research on human error seems to
suggest that several common prescriptions and expectations for reducing errors
are likely to be incorrect. Among the key conclusions from human error research
are that thinking is bad, that spreadsheets are not the cause of spreadsheet
errors, and that reducing errors is extremely difficult.Comment: 12 pages including reference
A Toolkit for Scalable Spreadsheet Visualization
This paper presents a toolkit for spreadsheet visualization based on logical
areas, semantic classes and data modules. Logical areas, semantic classes and
data modules are abstract representations of spreadsheet programs that are
meant to reduce the auditing and comprehension effort, especially for large and
regular spreadsheets. The toolkit is integrated as a plug-in in the Gnumeric
spreadsheet system for Linux. It can process large, industry scale spreadsheet
programs in reasonable time and is tightly integrated with its host spreadsheet
system. Users can generate hierarchical and graph-based representations of
their spreadsheets. This allows them to spot conceptual similarities in
different regions of the spreadsheet, that would otherwise not fit on a screen.
As it is assumed that the learning effort for effective use of such a tool
should be kept low, we aim for intuitive handling of most of the tool's
functions.Comment: 12 Page
Towards a Spreadsheet Engineering
In this paper, we report some on-going focused research, but are further keen
to set it in the context of a proposed bigger picture, as follows. There is a
certain depressing pattern about the attitude of industry to spreadsheet error
research and a certain pattern about conferences highlighting these issues. Is
it not high time to move on from measuring spreadsheet errors to developing an
armoury of disciplines and controls? In short, we propose the need to
rigorously lay the foundations of a spreadsheet engineering discipline.
Clearly, multiple research teams would be required to tackle such a big task.
This suggests the need for both national and international collaborative
research, since any given group can only address a small segment of the whole.
There are already a small number of examples of such on-going international
collaborative research. Having established the need for a directed research
effort, the rest of the paper then attempts to act as an exemplar in
demonstrating and applying this focus. With regard to one such of research, in
a recent paper, Panko (2005) stated that: "...group development and testing
appear to be promising areas to pursue". Of particular interest to us are some
gaps in the published research record on techniques to reduce errors. We
further report on the topics: techniques for cross-checking, time constraints
effects, and some aspects of developer perception.Comment: 12 Pages, One Figur
Applying the CobiT Control Framework to Spreadsheet Developments
One of the problems reported by researchers and auditors in the field of
spreadsheet risks is that of getting and keeping managements attention to the
problem. Since 1996, the Information Systems Audit & Control Foundation and the
IT Governance Institute have published CobiT which brings mainstream IT control
issues into the corporate governance arena. This paper illustrates how
spreadsheet risk and control issues can be mapped onto the CobiT framework and
thus brought to managers attention in a familiar format.Comment: 6 Page
Establishing and Measuring Standard Spreadsheet Practices for End-Users
This paper offers a brief review of cognitive verbs typically used in the
literature to describe standard spreadsheet practices. The verbs identified are
then categorised in terms of Bloom's Taxonomy of Hierarchical Levels, and then
rated and arranged to distinguish some of their qualities and characteristics.
Some measurement items are then evaluated to see how well computerised test
question items validate or reinforce training or certification. The paper
considers how establishing standard practices in spreadsheet training and
certification can help reduce some of the risks associated with spreadsheets,
and help promote productivity.Comment: 15 Pages, 5 Tables, 9 Colour Figure
The Detection of Human Spreadsheet Errors by Humans versus Inspection (Auditing) Software
Previous spreadsheet inspection experiments have had human subjects look for
seeded errors in spreadsheets. In this study, subjects attempted to find errors
in human-developed spreadsheets to avoid the potential artifacts created by
error seeding. Human subject success rates were compared to the successful
rates for error-flagging by spreadsheet static analysis tools (SSATs) applied
to the same spreadsheets. The human error detection results were comparable to
those of studies using error seeding. However, Excel Error Check and
Spreadsheet Professional were almost useless for correctly flagging natural
(human) errors in this study.Comment: 14 Pages, 4 Figure
Using Layout Information for Spreadsheet Visualization
This paper extends a spreadsheet visualization technique by using layout
information. The original approach identifies logically or semantically related
cells by relying exclusively on the content of cells for identifying semantic
classes. A disadvantage of semantic classes is that users have to supply
parameters which describe the possible shapes of these blocks. The correct
parametrization requires a certain degree of experience and is thus not
suitable for untrained users. To avoid this constraint, the approach reported
in this paper uses row/column-labels as well as common format information for
locating areas with common, recurring semantics. Heuristics are provided to
distinguish between cell groups with intended common semantics and cell groups
related in an ad-hoc manner.Comment: 13 pages, 3 colour figure
Error Estimation in Large Spreadsheets using Bayesian Statistics
Spreadsheets are ubiquitous in business with the financial sector
particularly heavily reliant on the technology. It is known that the level of
spreadsheet error can be high and that it is often necessary to review
spreadsheets based on a structured methodology which includes a cell by cell
examination of the spreadsheet. This paper outlines the early research that has
been carried out into the use of Bayesian Statistical methods to estimate the
level of error in large spreadsheets during cell be cell examination based on
expert knowledge and partial spreadsheet test data. The estimate can aid in the
decision as to the quality of the spreadsheet and the necessity to conduct
further testing or not.Comment: 12 Pages, 5 Colour Figure
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