| Often, during the documentation preparation process we discover that the there are calculations and formulas required to complete the job function. Sometimes these formulas are quite complex and can be confusing to someone not trained in the specifics of the job. Quite often though these formulas are already in spreadsheet form, they can be difficult to understand and not centrally located for easy location. The great thing about calculations and formulas is that as long as one person understands them, their purposes can be documented and these calculations can be placed into an easy to use spreadsheet for all to use. But they must be user friendly. Perhaps the best way to explain this is with an example. |
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| At first glance, the spreadsheet shown below may seem quite simple. That is because it was designed to simple. There are only five required areas (white areas - left) where data can be input. There are also six optional areas to the right which are part of another optional calculator. Each area can be easily explained to a novice user. There is also an area to the left which tells the user which areas to fill in first, second and last. As you can see there is a lot more going on here than initially meets the eye. The colored areas for example, are protected areas in which lie complex formulas that cannot be changed or viewed by the user, but lie behind the scenes out of site and out of harm's way. |
| This spreadsheet actually contains a summation of a three day high speed CNC machining class. This class cost about $2,000 plus expenses to attend and provided the user with all of the complex calculations required to calculate high speed milling operations. Normally a company would send each employee to the class that it feels is necessary. With the above spreadsheet and accompanying documentation, a company would be able to provide an entire department of lets say ten Engineers with a tool to make them high speed machining experts and not have to send each programmer to the class, thereby saving them $20,000. Also, its simple to use structure makes it easy for non-engineering types to understand its functions as well. Often, companies will send one or two individuals to a class such as this with the hope that they can bring back sufficient information to help train others. More often than not, the employees do not do a very good job of conveying this information to the others and additional training costs are required. Or more importantly, they may not immediately use the information and portions of the training can be lost. Lets be realistic for a moment. Would most technical professionals take the time to consider developing a spreadsheet, which was a user friendly as the one shown above? The truth is that although they would be able do develop the spreadsheet with a great level of proficiency, its ability to be used easily by others would be questionable. This is what Malafarina Technologies does. We take that critical information and formulas and place them into documents and spreadsheets that allow new users to access the data and understand it more quickly, while allowing formerly trained users to have their memories quickly refreshed. Contact Malafarina Technologies by email at Malafarina@msn.com or by phone at 610-781-8328 to see how we can help your business. |
| Spreadsheet Applications |
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