Spreadsheets vs project controls software
Most projects run on spreadsheets at some point, and many run well on them. This page sets out where spreadsheets are the right tool, where they start to cost more than they save, and how to tell which side of that line your project is on.
The short answer
Spreadsheets suit a small project managed by a few people who built the workbooks. Once several teams, contractors and reporting periods depend on the same numbers, keeping the spreadsheets consistent usually takes more effort, and carries more risk, than the software that replaces them.
Where spreadsheets work, and where they start to cost more
When spreadsheets are the better choice
Small, short projects
With a handful of people and a few months of work, the overhead of setting up software isn't worth it.
One-off analysis
Modelling an option, checking a claim or building a quick estimate is faster in a spreadsheet than anywhere else.
Everyone already knows them
No training, no licences and no setup. That matters when a team has to start tomorrow.
Complete flexibility
A spreadsheet will do whatever you build it to do, which is ideal while a process is still being worked out.
Where spreadsheets start to cost more
Copies multiply
Files are emailed, saved locally and renamed. Before long nobody is sure which copy has the current numbers.
Cost and progress don't connect
The cost report, the schedule and the progress measurement live in separate files, so earned value is rebuilt by hand every period.
One person holds it together
Complex workbooks depend on whoever built them. When that person leaves or is away at month end, reporting stalls.
No record of who changed what
A changed formula or overwritten figure leaves no trace, which makes audits and disputes harder.
Errors spread quietly
A broken link or a wrong cell reference rarely announces itself, and the wrong number flows into every report built on it.
How the two compare
- Cost to start
- SpreadsheetsNothing extraProject controls softwareLicences and setup time
- Flexibility
- SpreadsheetsUnlimitedProject controls softwareWorks within the software's structure
- Current version
- SpreadsheetsDepends on file disciplineProject controls softwareOne shared record
- Cost linked to progress
- SpreadsheetsRebuilt by hand each periodProject controls softwareCalculated from the same data
- Change history
- SpreadsheetsUsually noneProject controls softwareRecorded automatically
- Access control
- SpreadsheetsWhole file or nothingProject controls softwareSet by role and project
- Month-end reporting
- SpreadsheetsConsolidated manuallyProject controls softwareProduced from live data
- Reliance on key people
- SpreadsheetsHighProject controls softwareLower
| Aspect | Spreadsheets | Project controls software |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to start | Nothing extra | Licences and setup time |
| Flexibility | Unlimited | Works within the software's structure |
| Current version | Depends on file discipline | One shared record |
| Cost linked to progress | Rebuilt by hand each period | Calculated from the same data |
| Change history | Usually none | Recorded automatically |
| Access control | Whole file or nothing | Set by role and project |
| Month-end reporting | Consolidated manually | Produced from live data |
| Reliance on key people | High | Lower |
Signs you have outgrown spreadsheets
If two or three of these sound familiar, it's worth looking at the alternative.
- 1Month-end reporting takes days of consolidation before anyone can look at the numbers.
- 2People regularly ask which version of a file is the current one.
- 3Only one or two people can safely update the main workbooks.
- 4Earned value, if it's done at all, is recalculated by hand.
- 5A change in one place, such as an approved variation, has to be copied into several files.
- 6You have found a reporting error after it had already gone to a client or the board.
One connected record, launching first for EPCM, shutdowns and turnarounds
Strataverra keeps schedule, cost, change, quality, risk and documents in one connected record, so earned value and reports come from the same data rather than from consolidated spreadsheets. Spreadsheets still have a place: you can export to Excel for your own analysis. Strataverra is launching first for EPCM projects, shutdowns and turnarounds.
Explore the platformCommon questions
Can a large project be run on spreadsheets?
It can, and many have been. The cost shows up as the time spent consolidating and checking files, the reliance on the people who built them, and the risk of an error reaching a report. The larger the project and the more parties involved, the more those costs grow.
Will we have to stop using Excel?
No. Spreadsheets remain the best tool for one-off analysis and modelling. The aim is to stop using them as the system of record that everyone's reports depend on.
When is the right time to move off spreadsheets?
The best time is between projects or at the start of a new phase, so the baseline is set up in the new system from the beginning. Moving part way through is possible but means migrating the baseline and history.