INNOVATIONS AND INSIGHTS
SPREADSHEETS ARE KILLING YOUR PORTFOLIO AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE YOU KICK OFF YOUR NEXT PROJECT WITH A SPREADSHEET.
(Source: Canva)
There is no doubt that the entire Project Management industry from project owners, managers, contractors and suppliers, rely on spreadsheets. While spreadsheets are a powerful tool for statistical, engineering, and financial data management and analysis, the spreadsheet was not designed to be collaborative or customisable to specific industry use cases. As such, spreadsheets are not an environment in which the planning and delivery of projects can thrive and innovate. The current world of Project Management professionals could never have imagined one in which they deliver projects without spreadsheets. Hence many consider spreadsheets an industry standard tool. However, just because there is a critical mass of acceptance across the Project Management industry, does not mean that spreadsheets should be used for the most important aspects of project and portfolio management. In the Project Management of capital works projects, the efficient and effective management of cost tracking, requires accurate, meaningful and real-time reporting. This involves multiple internal and external players, frequent updates, and the need to manipulate data and report. Key decision makers are no longer satisfied with the incomplete, inaccurate, and confusing data represented by Project Managers using spreadsheets. 12
The issues are exacerbated as spreadsheets are passed up the chain – creating a hair on fire issue that spreadsheet information can no longer represent the business cases to the strategic detail necessary to move projects or decisions forward. Just as Forbes reported to the finance industry in 2013 that “Excel might be the most dangerous software on the planet”, the Project Management industry should be feeling the same way with 90% of all spreadsheets having errors. What’s worse, University of Hawaii has research that reports 99% of spreadsheets that link more than 10 cells, 10 times, have errors. If you consider the complexity of some spreadsheets produced to manage projects today, the amount of risk being carried is astounding. To help, here are four considerations before kicking off your next project with a spreadsheet.
1. DON’T TELL YOUR CLIENT YOU USE SPREADSHEETS Owners, clients and key decision makers are no longer satisfied with spreadsheets being the primary system for Project Managers. The question being asked often by clients is “What systems are you proposing to handle this complicated project?”. If your answer is spreadsheets, you are setting yourself up for embarrassment and reputational damage.
