Spring 2022

Spreadsheet Assignment 1

Instructions:

Purpose: To build spreadsheet design and presentation skills, and begin learning how to prepare spreadsheets for others to use. You will not be able to complete this quickly, but you should complete it on your own. If you complete this by having someone show you what to do, you will be missing 80% or more of the learning opportunity. HOWEVER, you may talk to others in your class and both ask and answer ANY questions of ANY kind related to this project. When I say "complete it on your own" I mean that you need to make all final decisions and do all the typing on your spreadsheet. If you and a friend prepare 1 spreadsheet and make copies to turn in, that would constitute plagiarism. If you sit with a friend and talk about the project, but each do your own typing and final decisions, that would not constitute plagiarism for this assignment.

The situation: Refer to Demonstration Problem 3 from Chapter 5 in your book for the basic information. Your boss at Brock Hardware wants you to prepare two schedules: one to compute the time needed for the job; and one to compute the cost. The spreadsheet must be a generic as possible since your company has several divisions that might be able to use this spreadsheet. Using Microsoft Excel, complete the spreadsheet by carrying out the following activities:

• Set up the spreadsheet in accordance with the design guide.
• Name the spreadsheet "SS1-yourname.xlsm [m is for macro]"
• Fill in the Index area (including the introduction), as well as the raw data area.
• Enter the needed formulas in the computations area. This assignment is very small so you may not need a computations area. If not, type THIS SHEET INTENTIONALLY BLANK
• Protect any cells that would not normally be changed during use (do not use password protection).
• The problem requirements are to be carried out in the Output section. Your answer should be a clear schedule showing the relationship and all the steps in your thinking, not just a single numerical answer. The solution in the book is ok as a computation example, but does not present the information properly. Also, the units in the example solution are not complete. You must have all numbers shown with correct units. The Output section is a formal business document and requires all the normal headings, date etc. It should also stand alone so that the user needs only look at the schedule on the Output sheet to understand the problem and the numerical analysis. The presentation in the book is not adequate for this purpose, although the computations are correct.
• The Computations section should normally be used to compute the basic pieces of the problem, for example, each of the costs could be broken up on the computations sheet and carefully ordered and labled. Then the subtotal (e.g., the new costs) used to prepare the final schedule. However, because this is a small problem it is possible to complete this assignment without using the Computations sheet.
• In the index area add a button next to each element in the spreadsheet and connect the button to a macro. The macro should be to "go to" the cell listed in the index. There are instructions for basic macros in the spreadsheet design guide.
• In the index area add another button next to the "go to" button and also connect it to a macro. The macro should be to print the area listed in the index.
• Do the same for the data, computations, and output areas.
• Turn in the following:
• On line: submit your spreadsheet file in Sakai in the class assignment section.
• In class: A printout of the individual sections with normal appearance.
• In class: A printout of the individual sections showing the formula view. [In excel: Formulas | Show Formulas. This will mess up the formatting. Do not spend a lot of time reformatting, a somewhat rough look is ok for the print out of the formula view]
• In class: A checklist of the assignment requirements derived from this page and class instructions, with each item checked off if completed. You need to copy this page as well as any problem requirements and anything I say in class and convert it to a checklist. Reduce the items to short phrases instead of complete sentences. Do not turn in the assignment unless all items are completed. The checklist should be attached at the back of the assignment.
• Grading will focus on the completion of the professional assignment and delivery of a professional product. Marks will be deducted for anything that would detract from the credibility of the document package in a professional setting. Look-and-feel in the sense of expensive paper and color printing are not required, in fact, unless you have a degree in graphic design do NOT use colour since your color choice will be evaluated and marked. Additionally, the gray scale conversion will be examined to see if all your color distinctions are noticible in a black and white printout. A professional appearance within the scope of your software and hardware are the expected minimum. For the most part this means simple and tidy with no typeface complexity, shading, or color. Basically, you do not want the reader to notice your graphic choices. Printing must be dark and clear.

Note: Only the ranges containing each section should be printed out. Do NOT print out blank pages from the spreadsheet.