mailman
08-12-2008, 07:28 AM
Hi all. I'm originally a programmer with knowledge and practice of database normalization, etc, etc.
I'm currently looking at a problem where I've got literally hundreds of interlinking Excel spreadsheets that are accessed by various levels of management. However, throughout various departments we've got people adding/removing rows/columns, etc that breaks other reports, but we obviously don't find out of course until that report is opened up and we have to hunt down what happened where, etc.
So, I'm wondering if anyone can outline or has a link to an outline on how to "Tame the Beast" as it were. Or if you have any suggestions on how to best assess the problem and determin a solution. Any and all comments are welcome, however I'm looking to those who've managed this situation before (big or small).
The jist I'm getting, is to somehow centralize and lockdown our data in a central area, but I believe our budget would only support a basic database system like Access.
Here's a link that I did find on the topic (for those searching the threads for more info like I am)
http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/1/e/41e147ab-56f2-432e-bbc5-ba5577bfa0f3/ExcelIntelligence.doc
Thanks all. I look forward to your insights... :think:
I'm currently looking at a problem where I've got literally hundreds of interlinking Excel spreadsheets that are accessed by various levels of management. However, throughout various departments we've got people adding/removing rows/columns, etc that breaks other reports, but we obviously don't find out of course until that report is opened up and we have to hunt down what happened where, etc.
So, I'm wondering if anyone can outline or has a link to an outline on how to "Tame the Beast" as it were. Or if you have any suggestions on how to best assess the problem and determin a solution. Any and all comments are welcome, however I'm looking to those who've managed this situation before (big or small).
The jist I'm getting, is to somehow centralize and lockdown our data in a central area, but I believe our budget would only support a basic database system like Access.
Here's a link that I did find on the topic (for those searching the threads for more info like I am)
http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/1/e/41e147ab-56f2-432e-bbc5-ba5577bfa0f3/ExcelIntelligence.doc
Thanks all. I look forward to your insights... :think: