EuSpRIG TEAM work:Tools, Education, Audit, Management

TL;DR

This paper reviews the persistent issue of spreadsheet errors, emphasizing their commonality, cognitive origins, and the ineffectiveness of simple caution in error reduction, highlighting the need for better tools and management.

Contribution

It introduces the EuSpRIG TEAM framework focusing on tools, education, audit, and management to address spreadsheet errors.

Findings

Spreadsheet errors are as prevalent as errors in other cognitive tasks.

Error rates are linked to human cognitive limitations.

Simple caution does not significantly reduce errors.

Abstract

Research on spreadsheet errors began over fifteen years ago. During that time, there has been ample evidence demonstrating that spreadsheet errors are common and nontrivial. Quite simply, spreadsheet error rates are comparable to error rates in other human cognitive activities and are caused by fundamental limitations in human cognition, not mere sloppiness. Nor does ordinary "being careful" eliminate errors or reduce them to acceptable levels.