Fritz: A Tool for Spreadsheet Quality Assurance

Abstract

While spreadsheets are widely used for business-related tasks, they are mostly handled by novice users instead of professional programmers. Consequently, those users often are not aware of quality issues in their spreadsheet programs that may lead to faults with significant adverse effects. In this work, we therefore present a tool, called Fritz, to support users in checking and improving the quality of their spreadsheets. The tool enriches the traditional spreadsheet visualization scheme by including visual feedback about certain structural and quality aspects. This allows for easier cognition of a spreadsheet's layout, and helps users to detect and comprehend irregularities within it. Furthermore, Fritz highlights suspicious (smelly) cells, such as complex formula cells or empty input cells, that are prone to introduce errors. In contrast to other smell detection tools, Fritz also warns against smells that point out structural irregularities.