Overkill/Redundancy

[Mark O'Brien]

Assume that I have been told, several times now, to work with a newly created, ill-considered Access DB, instead of the spreadsheet that I currently use.

Assume that this DB contains fields for data that I have already deemed unnecessary. Assume that ultimately this DB will contain, in total, 5 records. Assume also that the GUI for this DB is cumbersome and will take 5 times longer to update and maintain than my spreadsheet on a daily basis. (currently there are 100 records on the spreadsheet)

Is my boss an a$$hole? Or is he just being a pain in the a$$?

Maybe this should be a poll question.

 

[dk]

On first impressions, I'd say both :wink: What are his reasons for insisting you use Access?

 

[Corticus]

You could just embed the spreadsheet in a form. Then maybe both of you would be happy?

 

[Dugantrain]

Is the data non-relational? It exists just fine as a flat-file? If so, keep it in Excel. If you're having problems with the data that one-to-many relationships, normalization, etc. could serve, then put it into Access. Of course, you may run into the problem that I'm having now which is that your supervisor doesn't understand database logic, he only understands spreadsheets because they are so much simpler. So even though he keeps harping on you to use Access, all of your input and output is Excel and if you aren't going to be using the relational and querying power of Access, you're really just creating an extra step. Also, how volatile is this project? Although more powerful, a database isn't quite as flexible as a Spreadsheet. For example, if you find that you need to add several new columns in your spreadsheet, in turn, you'd have to add those columns to your db tables, update the queries, update the reports, update the interface, etc. However, if you think you might one day get to the point where this project would outgrow your current data management tool, then you might want to go ahead and start working with a db. Almost every project that I've worked on stems from the users trying to make-do with Spreadsheets until the project completely engulfed them. So, overall:
Ease-Of-Use: Excel
Overall Data Management Power: Access

 

[Mark O'Brien]

On first impressions, I'd say both :wink: What are his reasons for insisting you use Access?

His reason is because someone else made a non-singing, non-dancing stupid, crappy, time-consuming Access DB for something that his boss has said is overkill, but he got impressed by it and thinks it "looks nice". (incidentally, he also wanted it pw protected, the pw is "overkill")

He doesn't have to work with it. The data is truly non-relational, there is no advantage in it being in Access, at all, ever. We are talking about a 25kb spreadsheet of data. Godammit!

Actually, I may sound po'd, but I've been having fun telling him that I'm not doing it and it's a stupid idea. You should see the screen to print reports from it. It's hideously complicated. I really hope we didn't pay someone to make this thing. I did give in and import my current data into it. I populated 4 fields out of 15 that were in it and left everything else blank.

 

[Corticus]

Well put Dugantrain,

I have the same problem at work. The boss knows ledgers and spreadsheets, but if I say database, she's said no before I can finish the word. Fortunately, she's not the boss or I'd be stuck in Excel world. It is equally frustrating as Mark's dilema to have to sweat to make a spreadsheet try to perform simple database things like make new records.
What's really scary, is that when I started the job, everything was on Quattro Pro, and I only knew Excel. I wasn't even aloud to mention Excel because change is scary. But I documented around 150 pages or so of data that qpro destroyed, entire columns of number erased arbitrarily, formulas that rewrote themselves into circular references no matter how many times you fixed it. etc. We had to switch. I went through a similar ordeal getting them to switch from Wordperfect to Word. It was an easy process, those products are crap (Corel Suite something or another, the one with QPro 9, I can't comment on later versions), I just eased it along.
I guess my point is, if you can show your superiors how stupid and time-consuming what you're doing is, they might change, then again, they might not. Such is upper management,

 

[Mark O'Brien]

I think you may have missed the point here guys. FIVE (5) records. MAX. At the stage where he needs it.

Sh!t, I could create it in Notepad.