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Spreadsheet Dependency Diagnostic
Markdown diagnostic to evaluate whether a spreadsheet is still suitable for a process. Walks through concurrency, controls, traceability, integrations and impact, and concludes with a decision: keep, tidy, or migrate.
In this guide
How to use it
Copy the questionnaire once per critical sheet. Answer using data from the last month. The final decision is not automatic: use it to discuss with your team.
Bring it to your business
Download resource# Spreadsheet Dependency Diagnostic **How to use it:** make one copy per sheet that supports a process. Use data from the last month. Check Yes or No. Do not write passwords or personal data in this document. Sheet evaluated: ____________ Process supported: ____________ Owner: ____________ Date: ______ ## 1. Concurrency - [ ] Yes [ ] No: More than two people edit the sheet on the same day. - [ ] Yes [ ] No: There have been changes that were overwritten or lost. ## 2. Controls - [ ] Yes [ ] No: There have been typing errors with consequences (price, quantity, address). - [ ] Yes [ ] No: A formula has broken or been overwritten. - [ ] Yes [ ] No: There are duplicate rows and no one knows which is correct. ## 3. Traceability - [ ] Yes [ ] No: You need to know who approved a change and why. - [ ] Yes [ ] No: There have been disputes about which data was correct. ## 4. Integrations - [ ] Yes [ ] No: Data is copied from or to other systems every week. - Hours per week estimated spent copying and pasting: ____ ## 5. Impact - [ ] Yes [ ] No: An error in this sheet affects shipments, billing, or customers. ## Interpreting the result - **0 to 2 “Yes”:** keep. The sheet fulfills its purpose. - **3 to 5 “Yes”:** tidy. Apply protections, validations, assign an owner and use capture forms. - **6 or more “Yes”, or “Yes” in Impact together with any other signal:** consider migrating the process to a connected system or tool. Decision: [ ] Keep [ ] Tidy [ ] Consider migration Next step and date: ____________ ## Synthetic example (delete before using) Sheet: General inventory (fictional company). Yes in concurrency (2), controls (2) and impact (1): 5 “Yes” with impact. Decision: consider migration.
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When a spreadsheet stops being enough for your operation
Spreadsheets are an excellent tool that many companies use beyond their comfort point. This guide explains when they remain appropriate and which signs related to concurrency, control, traceability and integration indicate your operation needs something else.