Slide 1 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Productivity Applications © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Slide 2 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation The Malleable Matrix The spreadsheet consists of:  Cells (the intersection of a row and column)  Addresses (column letter and row number, e.g., A1, C12) © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc. Cell A1 Cell C12

Slide 3 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Spreadsheets can contain:  Values, such as numbers and dates  Labels, such as column and report headings, that explain what the values mean © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Slide 4 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation  Formulas allow you to create instructions using mathematical expressions and commands. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc. + (plus) - (minus) *(multiplication) / (division) Sum Average

Slide 5 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Screen Test: Creating a Worksheet with Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet programs work in much the same way and share most of these features:  Spreadsheets offer many automatic features such as replication of data. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Slide 6 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Spreadsheet’s Automatic Features © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc. Type the first value in the series, such as Qtr 1 or January or 500. Let the software replicate it to other cells.

Slide 7 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation  Formulas can be:  Relative, so they refer to different cells when they are copied  Absolute, so the formula references never change when they are copied © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc. When the formula in column B is copied to column C, it changes relative to the new column.

Slide 8 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation  Automatic recalculation  Any time a change is entered into the spreadsheet, all data related to the change automatically updates. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc. When a value is entered in column E or F the value of the related formula in column G is automatically updated.

Slide 9 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation  Functions (e.g., SUM, AVG, SQRT) automate complex calculations.  Macros store keystrokes and commands so they can be played back automatically.  Templates offer ready-to-use worksheets with labels and formulas already entered. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Slide 10 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.  Linking spreadsheets together  When the values change in one spreadsheet, the data is automatically updated in all linked spreadsheets.  Database capabilities  Search for information  Sort the data by a specific criteria  Merge the data with a word processor  Generate reports

Slide 11 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Rules of Thumb: Avoiding Spreadsheet Pitfalls Plan the worksheet before you start entering values and formulas. Make your assumptions as accurate as possible. Double-check every formula and value. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Slide 12 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Rules of Thumb (continued) Make formulas readable. Check your output against other systems. Build in cross-checks. Change the input data values and study the results. Take advantage of pre-programmed functions, templates, and macros.. Use a spreadsheet as a decision-making aid, not as a decision-maker. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Slide 13 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation “What If?” Questions Spreadsheets allow you to change numbers and instantly see the effects of those changes.  “What if I enter this value?” Equation solvers  Some spreadsheets generate data needed to fit a given equation and target value. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Slide 14 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Spreadsheet Graphics: From Digits to Drawings  Charts allow you to turn numbers into visual data.  Pie charts show proportions relative to the whole.  Line charts show trends or relationships over time. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Slide 15 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation  Use bar charts if data falls into a few categories.  Use scatter charts to discover, rather than to display, a relationship between two variables. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Slide 16 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation Rules of Thumb: Making Smart Charts Choose the right chart for the job.  Think about the message you’re trying to convey.  Pie charts, bar charts, line charts, and scatter charts are not interchangeable. Keep it simple, familiar, and understandable.  Use charts in magazines, books, and newspapers as models.  Strive to reveal the truth, not hide it. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Slide 17 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Statistical Software: Beyond Spreadsheets Automatic Mathematics Mathematics processing software  Software turns abstract mathematical relationships into visual objects (Example: Mathematica by Wolfram).  Generally, they include an interactive, wizard-like question- and-answer mode, a programming language, and tools for creating interactive documents that combine text, numerical expressions, and graphics. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Slide 18 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Statistical Software: Beyond Spreadsheets Statistics and Data Analysis Statistical and data analysis software  Collects and analyzes data that tests the strength of data relationships  Can produce graphs showing how two or more variables relate to each other  Can often uncover trends by browsing through two- and three-dimensional graphs of data, looking for unusual patterns in the dots and lines that appear on the screen © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Slide 19 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Statistical Software: Beyond Spreadsheets Scientific Visualization Scientific visualization software uses shape, location in space, color, brightness, and motion to help us visualize data. Visualization helps researchers see relationships that might have been obscure or even impossible to grasp without computer-aided visualization tools. © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Slide 20 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Calculated Risks: Computer Modeling and Simulation © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc. Computer modeling uses computers to create abstract models of objects, organisms, organizations, and processes. Examples of popular computer models:  Games (chess boards, sports arenas, and mythological societies)  Models of organisms, objects, and organizations  Flight simulators and simulations of science lab activities  Business, city, or nation management simulations

Slide 21 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Calculated Risks: Computer Modeling and Simulation © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc. Computer Simulations: The Risk GIGO Revisited  The accuracy of a simulation depends on how closely its mathematical model corresponds to the system being simulated.  Some models suffer from faulty assumptions.  Some models contain hidden assumptions that may not even be obvious to their creators.  Some models go astray simply because of clerical or human errors.  Still, garbage in, garbage out is a basic rule of simulation.

Slide 22 Tomorrow’s Technology and You 8/e Chapter 5 Calculated Risks: Computer Modeling and Simulation © 2008 Prentice-Hall, Inc. The Illusion of Infallibility  A computer simulation, whether generated by a PC spreadsheet or churned out by a supercomputer, can be an invaluable decision- making aid.  The risk is that the people who make decisions with computers will turn over too much of their decision-making power to the computer.  Risks can be magnified because people take computers seriously. “ Trust your feelings.” Jedi Master in Star Wars