Errors, Mistakes, and Awareness, Part 1: Errors and Mistakes

by Patrick O'Beirne

What is an error? That apparently innocent question was at the base of some discussion at the 2006 conference of the European Spreadsheet Risk Interest Group (EUSprig) and Excel training classes. Taxonomies (classifications) of spreadsheet errors have been presented in journals and at Eusprig conferences. The problem I see with these classifications is that they focus on errors as things that exist in spreadsheets, and therefore on detection. My interest is in what to do to prevent these errors, so I focus on looking at the activities that create them or surround their use.

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Errors, Mistakes, and Awareness, Part 1: Errors and Mistakes16 August 2006