In Defense of the Humble Spreadsheet

Spreadsheets have developed an ill-deserved bad rap and many organizations seem hell-bent on dramatically reducing their use. But spreadsheets are actually very powerful and versatile tools that almost everyone is comfortable and good at using. Organizations would be well served to encourage their appropriate use instead of working to eliminate it.

14 February 2024

It seems like I hear it on almost every data management-related project I work on. When I ask a client why they want to implement a new data management system, one of the things I almost inevitably hear is “to get people to stop using spreadsheets.” But what is it about spreadsheets that makes people loathe their use so much? And if spreadsheets are so bad, why do people routinely fall back to using them? Is it possible that spreadsheets are actually powerful tools that for some reason have developed a bad rap?

To be clear from the start, spreadsheets definitely have some weaknesses. For example, it can be difficult for multiple people to simultaneously access a spreadsheet and keep data accurate and up-to-date. In fact, it can be difficult to just track what changes have been made to a spreadsheet, or even who has accessed it. Spreadsheets do not support advanced reporting, and automating complex tasks based on the data in spreadsheets can be almost impossible. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the structure and function of a spreadsheet is often only fully understood by the person who created it, making it very difficult to pass ownership of a spreadsheet on to a new person

So if spreadsheets are so bad, why do we keep falling back to using them? The simple answer is that despite their numerous obvious weaknesses, spreadsheets are pretty powerful and versatile tools.

While spreadsheets are often not the perfect tool for a particular job, they are relatively good at doing a lot of different tasks. This versatility is one of the biggest strengths of spreadsheets. They can be used for everything from simple data storage to advanced data manipulation and cleansing. Spreadsheets can even do complex statistical analysis (I have personally used MS Excel as the primary analysis tool when teaching undergraduate and graduate-level statistics classes). And with the help of macros and Visual Basic, spreadsheets can be formatted to serve as data collection forms and even be used to automate simple data-related tasks.

There is no denying spreadsheets are versatile and powerful tools, but this is not the primary reason we so often fall back to using them. The main reason we use spreadsheets for so much is that we are comfortable and good at using them, and this is perhaps the biggest strength of spreadsheets. Since spreadsheets have been around since the start of personal computing, most people are very familiar with them and comfortable using them. Moreover, a lot of people are quite proficient at using spreadsheets. This is the real reason we use spreadsheets for so much; we know they will work for what we need to do, and we are comfortable and relatively proficient at using them.

Spreadsheets have their weaknesses and modern software solutions are often a much better option to support complex and important organizational tasks. But it might be time for us to give the humble spreadsheet its due and start encouraging its use for appropriate tasks. After all, spreadsheets can do a lot of things pretty well, and most people are comfortable and proficient using them. As such, spreadsheets still have a lot to offer modern organizations.