Developing a Repeating Model Using the Structured Spreadsheet Modelling and Implementation Methodology
This addresses inefficiencies for spreadsheet developers by reducing redundancy, but it is incremental as it builds on existing spreadsheet methodologies.
The paper tackles the problem of repetitive formulas in spreadsheets by introducing a conceptual modeling approach that generalizes similar calculations, resulting in a simplified formula like Revenues = Price * Quantity.
Spreadsheets often have variables and formulas that are similar, differing only by the fact that they refer to different instances of an entity. For example, the calculation of the sales revenues of the South and East regions are Revenues South = Price * Quantity Sold South and Revenues East = Price * Quantity Sold East. In this paper, we present a conceptual modelling approach that takes advantage of these similarities and leads the spreadsheet developer to the formula Revenues = Price * Quantity. We then present simple but strict rules to implement the spreadsheet.