Excel-dependent work · Executive guide
Spreadsheet process automation
Decide when to strengthen a spreadsheet, automate around it, or replace it with a focused application.
The underlying problem
Start with the operating reality.
Spreadsheets are not inherently the problem. The risk appears when a file becomes a multi-user workflow, system of record, integration layer, and undocumented application at the same time.
Signals to investigate
When the workaround becomes infrastructure.
01
The workbook has multiple unofficial versions
02
Only one person understands critical formulas
03
Users copy data across tabs or files every cycle
04
Auditability and permissions matter but remain informal
A practical approach
Improve the process before prescribing technology.
01
Identify the useful model logic worth preserving
02
Separate calculation, data, interface, and workflow needs
03
Choose between hardening, automation, and replacement
04
Migrate in stages with parallel validation
Questions worth answering
01
Is the file a model or an application?
02
How many users and handoffs are involved?
03
What breaks when its owner is unavailable?
04