PowerPoint Presentation

Session 5Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran1

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran1Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran2OutlinePrinciples of Spreadsheet DesignEase-of-use for OthersColorManagerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran2Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran3Add white space by increasing column width and row height.Indent to help the users understand subtotals.Consider not displaying the gridlines.Increasing Ease-of-use by Others

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran4Avoid the ransom note effect: Use only a few different fonts:Ariel or Calibri, Times New Roman, New CourierUse the standard symbolic fonts:Insert | Symbol | FontSymbol: , , , , , , , , Wingdings: , , , , , Webdings: , , , , , Downloadable fonts can be useful for printing or presenting, but not for sharing with others; you cannot embed fonts in a workbook.Use different colors, borders, shading (and patterns), font sizes, formatting, alignment.From the Home tab, launch the Font dialog box and Superscript / SubscriptIncreasing Ease-of-use by OthersManagerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran5

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran6Document with cell comments and adjacent descriptive labels.Center labels across columns, and over rows. Realign text.Dont scream (USE ALL CAPITALS). Use graphical controls (e.g., sliders).Be cautious about letting column widths vary.(Carefully) use conditional formatting.Dont make people guess where information might be located.Identify the active area of your spreadsheet.Surround it with thick (embossed) borders.Use highlighting shading (say, light yellow).Shade the unused rows and columns light gray.Select everything, shade light gray, and then unshade the active area.Hide all of the unused rows and columns.Increasing Ease-of-use by OthersManagerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran7Remove extraneous/distracting elements.Unused worksheets!Gridlines row/column headers, formula bar: View | Show/Hide group.Scroll bars, sheet tabs, etc.: File | Options | Advanced | Display options for this workbook.View | Workbook Views | Full Screen is the most extreme.Save users from themselves.Protect cells and worksheets from inadvertent change.Use data validation prompts.Low-tech: Insert If() functions nearby to display error messages when appropriate.If(danger, "Warning!", "")Increasing Ease-of-use by OthersManagerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran8Emphasize the logical organization of information.Tie together related but physically separated cells.Increase information density in graphs.Draw attention to warnings or outliers.Add interest to a boring display.Make sure you have some reason for using color.Using ColorManagerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran9Recognize cultural associations for color. In the U.S.,Red =Black =Blue =Yellow =Green =For international cultural associations, check out www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/colours-in-cultures/To represent relative values, stick with some logical order.Color Guidelines

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran10Take a screen shot that contains the color youre looking for.Launch Microsoft Paint, and Paste (Ctrl v) in the image.Use Tools | Color Picker , and click on the color you want.Finding a Primary ColorThat becomes Color 1; click on Edit colors and read off the RGB codes at the bottom right.Now enter these RGB codes into Hypergurl.

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran11Custom Color Schemeshttp://www.hypergurl.com/colormatch.php

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran12Dont rely on it exclusively, but use it to reinforce information.Most printing is still done in black and white.9% of Caucasian males have some form of color blindness.Color perception is associated with the X chromosome.Red/Green is the most common.Shades of brown and yellow are universally recognized.Avoid pairing extremes of color spectrum, or garish combinations:

Low error rates:Color Concerns

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran13Use it consistently throughout.E.g., all error messages are in red; all comments are on a light yellow background; etc.Use it conservatively.Maximum of 3 7 colors; strive for subtlety.Avoid vibrant colors (especially for backgrounds).Thin or small objects (e.g., lines) need to have brighter colors.Consider inverse colors (e.g., white text on a dark background) for titles.Color Concerns

Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran14Take-awaysAs with traditional computer programming languages, there are style guides for building and maintaining spreadsheets.The appropriate levels of documentation, ease-of-use features, and error prevention features, will depend on who will be using the spreadsheet, and how frequently.Accountants have a well-defined style, which is appropriate for their B&W hard copies.Embed hyperlinks into large workbooks to facilitate navigation.Be consistent!Within your spreadsheet.With generally accepted conventions.With your corporations style guidelines.Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran15Take-awaysAlways identify parameters in their own labeled cells, never buried in an equation.Design your spreadsheet so that equations depend on values above and to their left.Eliminate circular references if at all possible.Use comments liberally to explain what youre doing. (They can always be turned off.)Dont be content with Excels default format; theres a lot you can do to make it easier for others to understand your spreadsheet.Use color appropriately in order to reinforce connections and to clarify distinctions.Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling -- Prof. Juran16Consider the worksheet Trouble.Apply good design principles to improve its layout and readability.Graying Out and/or hiding all but a small portion of the worksheet.Adding embossed borders (if you want).Turning off some extraneous features (row and column headings, scroll bars, sheet tabs, etc.)Invoking View | Workbook Views | Full Screen.Entering special symbols from Insert | Symbol.Entering special symbols from (say) the Wingding font.Mixing italic characters and subscripts; e.g., t.

Hands-on Practice