Fixing spreadsheet errors

Computer scientists at Oregon State University have created a new, much simpler approach to fixing errors in spreadsheets, a system that is easy to use and might help businesses around the world reduce mistakes and save billions of dollars.

The advances - which allow a non-specialist to identify and fix a problem by selecting from a short list of change suggestions – were announced at the International Conference on Software Engineering in Minneapolis. The new system, called "GoalDebug," is being licensed to a spinoff company in Oregon.

Spreadsheets, a standard bookkeeping and accounting tool used by businesses to track everything from payroll to accounts receivable, are one of the most common of all computer software programs. But they are notoriously prone to errors, experts say.

‘Most users of spreadsheets are overconfident, they believe that the data is correct,’ said Martin Erwig, an associate professor of computer science in the OSU College of Engineering. ‘But it has been observed that up to 90 percent of the spreadsheets being used have non-trivial errors in them.’