Computer Science & Engineering 2111
Lecture 1
Spreadsheet Design
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
1
Location, Location, Location
Spreadsheet design is the most important factor
• GIGO
Proper formulas and formatting are also very important
Spreadsheet Organization
• Inputs and Outputs on the same worksheet
• Inputs and Outputs on separate worksheets
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
2
Design Tips
• Inputs and outputs should be clearly denoted
• Inputs and outputs should be set up in such a way as to
facilitate creating formulas that can be copied instead of
having to be rewritten over and over
• Formulas should primarily use cell references instead of “hard
coding” the values (Typing a value instead of a cell reference)
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
Inputs and Outputs on Same Worksheet
Outputs
Inputs
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
4
Notice the Design facilitates writing a formula in cell C4 and
copying it over to cell E4 and down to cell E6
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
5
Inputs and Outputs on Separate Worksheets
Inputs
Worksheet Name:
Budget Assumptions
Outputs
Worksheet Name:
College Budget
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
6
Worksheet Name: College Budget
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
7
Referencing Multiple Worksheets
• Special Characters or spaces in spreadsheet name, the whole
name must be surrounded by ‘ ‘.
• Type in formula, or point and click
• Point and click-Make sure to anchor formula
– All cell references will have sheet name, but that is ok.
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
8
My Outputs
My Inputs
OtherInputs
My Outputs
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
9
Decision Support Systems (DSS)
Programs used to help managers solve complex business problems
• A model representing a quantitative business problem
– Problem can range from a desired product mix to sales forecasts to
sales analysis to risk analysis
– Used to examine financial outcomes using “what if” analysis
• Examples of DSS programs
– SAP™, Microsoft Dynamics™, and PeopleSoft™
– Excel
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
10
College Town Thrift Shop
• Owner of a Thrift shop that caters to college students
• Thinking of expanding your business by buying an adjacent store
front.
• You will need to finance the purchase with a business loan
• Bank requires a projection of your profit and cash flows for the
next two years before it will loan you the money to expand
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
11
College Town Thrift Shop
Forecast Factors:
• 2013 Sales
• Cost of Goods Sold
• Estimate of the Economy
•
•
•
•
Recession and High Inflation Outlook
Recession and Low Inflation Outlook
Economic Boom and High Inflation Outlook
Economic Boom and Low Inflation Outlook
• Business loan payment
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
12
Organization of a DSS Model using an Income
and Cash Flow Statement Framework
Constants Section
• Holds values that are needed for the spreadsheet calculations
Inputs Section
• Will be typed in by the user to play basic “what if” analysis
Summary of Key Results Section
• Summarizes important information
Calculations Section
• Used for intermediate calculations
Income and Cash Flow Statements Section
• Financial or accounting “body” of the spreadsheet
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
13
Steps
• Create a skeleton and add any constants
• Fill in the easy formulas
• Fill in the hard formulas
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
14
Skeleton of
DSS using an
Income and
Cash Flow
Statements
framework
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
15
Constants Section
Values given to you and usually do not change, but can if needed.
For example, you might decide to borrow more than $100,000.
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
16
Inputs Section
Allows you to play basic “what if” analysis on the factors you have
identified earlier
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
17
Summary of Key Results Section
Summary sections are usually placed near the top of a spreadsheet
to allow managers to see a quick “bottom line summary
(Copied from the Income and Cash Flow Statements section at the bottom of the sheet.)
Summary sections can make it easier to select cells for charting
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
18
Calculations Section
(Expansion and No Expansion)
Used to compute intermediate values which makes the calculations
in the Income and Cash Flow Statements less complicated.
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
19
Completed
Spreadsheet
(Using R/H as input)
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
20
Evaluating the outcomes for your
DSS Model
1.
2.
3.
4.
Recession and High Inflation Outlook
Recession and Low Inflation Outlook
Economic Boom and High Inflation Outlook
Economic Boom and Low Inflation Outlook
You could create 3 more copies of your spreadsheet to evaluate
the four different scenarios, or you could use Scenario Manager.
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
21
Scenario Manager
Used to run the model for all the requested outcomes and
presents a tabular summary of the results.
Presents a tabular summary of the results that is useful for
reports, presentations, etc.
CSE 2111 Lecture 1-Spreadsheet Design
22