Spreadsheet Comprehension: Guesswork, Giving Up and Going Back to the Author

Abstract

Spreadsheet users routinely read, and misread, others' spreadsheets, but literature offers only a high-level understanding of users’ comprehension behaviors. This limits our ability to support millions of users in spreadsheet comprehension activities. Therefore, we conducted a think-aloud study of 15 spreadsheet users who read others’ spreadsheets as part of their work. With qualitative coding of participants’ comprehension needs, strategies and difficulties at 20-second granularity, our study provides the most detailed understanding of spreadsheet comprehension to date.

Topics & Concepts