The Devil’s guide to spreadsheet creation

From http://www.sysmod.com/praxis/prax0404.htm#Excel

The Devil’s guide to spreadsheet creation

1. Just do it. Jump in and do it. The users will have to accept whatever you produce anyway.
2. Fire, then aim. You know what is really needed without having to ask.
3. Never simplify (that just makes it easier for other people to get your job); just keep adding bits without removing old stuff.
4. Deadlines live on.
5. Documentation is for wimps; specifications are for the timid.
6. Don’t obtain test data; whatever the spreadsheet result is, is right.
7. Don’t protect the sheet; that restricts the users’ right to improve your formulas by typing in what they want.
8. Don’t fill in the properties sheet, they’ll find out you were the author.
9. VBA (Very Buggy Application) debugging is easy; just keep making changes until something appears to work, then your responsibility is finished.
10. Never use in-cell comments or help text on the page; users should just know what to do.
11. If you know what units of measure are used, you can safely assume everybody else does too.
12. Mix input data with calculation cells to keep the users on their toes.
13. Never mix absolute and relative references, it can shorten billable time.
14. Hide some data in cells so that when users trip over it, their respect for your cleverness increases.
15. If asked to do a test run, ask “Don’t you trust me?”
16. Format with as many decorative colours and styles as possible, to relieve boredom.
17. Don’t keep backup copies of different versions of a spreadsheet, the latest is always the best.
18. Hardcode constants in formulas; after all, they don’t change.
19. Cross-tot checking is merely redundant calculation.
20. To test a spreadsheet, you only need to check whether the answers look reasonable.

Great list! I can’t recall a day when I’ve not seen a spreadsheet that evidences 3 or more of these

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