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Usability Study

Comparison of Spreadsheet Applications

White Paper By: Gregory Schindler

Completed Using
Microsoft Excel
and Google Sheets

Completed August 6, 2016

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION

METHODS

TASKS

EVALUATION CRITERIA

RESULTS
TASK 1: ADDING A SERIES OF NUMBERS
Figure 1: Excel Auto Sum
Figure 2: Sheets Auto Sum
TASK 2: INSERT A CHART
Figure 3: Excel Inserting Charts
Figure 4: Sheets Inserting Charts
TASK 3: ADDING A NEW SHEET
Figure 5: Excel New Sheet
Figure 6: Sheets New Sheet
TASK 4: INSERTING A TABLE
Figure 7: Excel Creating a Table
TASK 5: BUILDING FORMULAS
Figure 8: Excel Building Formulas
Figure 9: Sheets Building Formulas
TASK 6: FILE SHARING
Figure 10: Excel File Sharing
Figure 11: Sheets File Sharing
TASK 7: ADDING AND DELETING ROWS AND COLUMNS
Figure 12: Excel Adding a Column
Figure 13: Sheets Adding a Column
TASK 8: FORMATTING NUMBERS
Figure 14: Excel Formatting numbers
Figure 15: Sheets Formatting Numbers
TASK 9: SORTING CELLS
Figure 16: Excel cell sorting
Figure 17: Sheets file shorting
TASK 10: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Figure 18: Excel data analysis
Figure 19: Sheets data analysis

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SUMMARY OF RESULTS
Figure 20: Summary of Liken Scores

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RECOMMENDATION

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Introduction
Spread sheet applications, such as Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, are tools with a
wide range of uses from making charts or graphs to completing complex calculations.
One feature of spread sheet applications is that they make working with large quantities
of numbers easier to deal with. This is great for people such as engineers or accounts.
This white paper will compare and grade the usability of Microsoft Excel and Google
Sheets.
The usability test results between the two software platforms will be presented in this
report. The purpose of this test is to compare the ease of use between Microsoft Excel
and Google Sheets. Ease of use comes down too many features such as basic
commands, general performance, and appearance. This testing will take place as if the
audience has a basic knowledge of how to operate a computer and navigate through
that software platforms presented. This test will take place as if I am the user,
comparing each application at each task.

Methods
This test was completed on August 6, 2016 in my home office. A laptop PC with
Windows 10 was used to complete the test between Microsoft Excel and Google Slides
using Google Chrome.

Tasks
1. Adding a Series of Numbers
2. Insert a Chart
3. Add a new sheet
4. Insert Table
5. Building formulas
6. Filing Sharing
7. Adding and Deleting Columns or Rows
8. Formatting Numbers
9. Sorting Cells
10. Statistical Analysis
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Evaluation Criteria
The tasks were completed using both spread sheet applications, and given a score from
the Likert table below. The questions asked to determine the score of each application
were:

Was I able to execute the task quick and easily.


Was I able to execute the task without researching how to do so.

Strongly Disagree
(1)

Disagree
(2)

Agree
(3)

Strongly Agree
(4)

Results
All ten tasks were completed and compared during the usability test. The usability of
every task was given a score based on the Liken Table for each application.

Task 1: Adding a Series of Numbers


Adding a long string of numbers can be very time consuming and errors can
easily be made when doing so by hand. Spread sheet applications are great
solution to this, because they make adding multiple numbers easy, and there will
not be mathematical errors.
Microsoft Excel was quick and effective when trying to add a series of numbers.
Excel has one button on the tool bar that says autosum, which makes it very
easy to find. Once you have selected the cell that you want the sum to appear in,
all you have to do is click the autosum button and Excel will automatically
assume which cells you wanted added. Google Sheets was also very effective
but not as quick as Excel was. In Google Sheets there is also a button on the tool
bar to complete the auto sum, but the button does not say auto sum so this
makes it slightly harder to find. Once the cell has been selected where you want
the sum to appear, I had to go and select all the cells that I wanted added. This
was more time consuming, than the program assuming which cells I wanted
added.

Figure 1: Excel Auto Sum


Criteria
Microsoft Excel
Google Sheets

Figure 2: Sheets Auto Sum


Executed Quick and
Effectively
Strongly Agree (4)
Agree (3)

Executed without Help


Strongly Agree (4)
Strongly Agree (4)

Microsoft Excel has a slight edge over Google Sheets when adding a
series of numbers, because it was slightly quicker to complete.

Task 2: Insert a Chart


Charts can be a great way to display numerical information that is easier
to understand than numbers by themselves. When making a chart the first
choice I was faced with was what type of chart do I want to construct. Not
only do spreadsheets need to be easy to insert charts, but also easy to
select what type of chart to insert.
Excel has an insert tab on the tool bar and once that has been clicked
there is a several different chart types that can be inserted. Sheets also
has an insert tab and once clicked a drop down menu appears. In the drop

down menu, charts is one of the options. When charts have been
selected, it opens with several different chart types that can be inserted.

Figure 3: Excel Inserting Charts


Criteria
Microsoft Excel
Google Sheets

Figure 4: Sheets Inserting Charts


Executed Quick and
Effectively
Strongly Agree (4)
Agree (4)

Executed without Help


Strongly Agree (4)
Strongly Agree (4)

Both Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, make it easy to add charts into the
spreadsheets. These applications make inserting charts just a few clicks, which
makes it extremely usable.

Task 3: Adding a New Sheet


Adding a new sheet in spreadsheets is critical, because it makes it possible to do
multiple different things in one spreadsheet. Have multiple sheets can be easier
than scrolling through one large sheet.
Both applications have tabs at the bottom of the page, which shows that you are
on sheet 1. Next to the tabs on both Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets there is
a button to add a new sheet, which makes this a easy task in both applications.

Figure 5: Excel New Sheet


Criteria
Microsoft Excel
Google Sheets

Figure 6: Sheets New Sheet

Executed Quick and


Effectively
Strongly Agree (4)
Agree (4)

Executed without Help


Strongly Agree (4)
Strongly Agree (4)

Adding a new sheet was made easy in both applications. Excel and Sheets made
adding a new sheet one click away, and it cant get much easier than that .

Task 4: Inserting a Table


Although Excel and Sheets are essentially already one big table, it is useful to be
able to create a table within them to present data more effectively. Tables can be
a great way to show data, that is more pleasing to the eye and easier to
understood.
Excel makes adding a table a similar process to adding a chart. From the insert
menu, there is an option to add a table. When you have selected to insert a table
it asks which cells you would like to make a table, and it creates a table out of it.
Google Sheets does not have an option to make a table. This means that you
would have to construct the table by hand.

Figure 7: Excel Creating a Table

Criteria
Microsoft Excel
Google Sheets

Executed Quick and


Effectively
Strongly Agree (4)
Strongly Disagree (1)

Executed without Help


Strongly Agree (4)
Strongly Disagree (1)

Excel makes creating a table simple and quick, while Sheets is unable to make a
table unless done so by hand.

Task 5: Building Formulas


Often times when working in spreadsheets, one calculation is dependent on a
prior calculation. This means that if the previous calculation changes for any
reason, the dependent calculation will no longer be correct. Creating formulas is
one way to solve this problem. By creating a formula, if one calculation changes
it will automatically change the other calculations depending on that one.
Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets have a large formula input bar built into the
tool bar. Both spreadsheet applications make adding formulas about as simple
as can be.

Figure 8: Excel Building Formulas

Figure 9: Sheets Building Formulas

Criteria
Microsoft Excel
Google Sheets

Executed Quick and


Effectively
Strongly Agree (4)
Strongly Agree (4)

Executed without Help


Strongly Agree (4)
Strongly Agree (4)

Both applications receive high scores on this task, because they made adding
formulas very easy to do.

Task 6: File Sharing


File sharing is a huge part of the business world. Whether files are being shared
with coworkers or clients, doing this with as little effort as possible is important.
Time is a valuable part of anyones day so, sharing files needs to be made
quickly.
Microsoft Excel makes sharing files easy. In the file table there is an option to
share your file. When sharing a file, it opened my email and I was able to email
the file to anyone with an email address. Anyone working in Google Sheets has a
Gmail account that is linked to their account. This is significant, because it makes
sharing files about as quick as it can be. In the file tab there is a share option,
once this is clicked, it asks for the email address for the person you would like to
share with and it is sent.

Figure 10: Excel File Sharing


Criteria
Microsoft Excel
Google Sheets

Figure 11: Sheets File Sharing


Executed Quick and
Effectively
Agree (3)
Strongly Agree (4)

Executed without Help


Strongly Agree (4)
Strongly Agree (4)

Although both Excel and Sheets make it easy to share files, Sheets has the
advantage, because they made it faster. Google Sheets is connected to your
Gmail account, so it makes sharing files very fast.

Task 7: Adding and Deleting Rows and Columns


When mistakes are made, sometimes the best way to fix them is to add or
remove a row or column. Adding a row or column will insert an entire blank row
or column where you would like it, and shift all the others accordingly. Deleting
rows and column will take it out and shifting all the other cells to fill the void left
over.
Microsoft excel makes editing rows and column simple. At the far left of every
row there is a numbers naming the rows, when I right click one of the naming
numbers there is an insert and delete option. If I select insert a row, it
automatically adds a row below the one selected. The same process goes for
adding a column but a column is automatically added to right of the selected one.
In google sheets the same process for adding and deleting rows and columns is
used as Excel. The only difference between Excel and Sheets is that Sheets
allows you to choose if you would like to insert the column to the left or right of
selected column. The Same goes with rows, sheets allows you to choose if you
want the row inserted above or below the selected row.

Figure 12: Excel Adding a Column Figure 13: Sheets Adding a Column
Criteria
Microsoft Excel
Google Sheets

Executed Quick and


Effectively
Agree (3)
Strongly Agree (4)
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Executed without Help


Strongly Agree (4)
Strongly Agree (4)

Google Sheets has a slight advantage over Microsoft Excel in adding rows and
columns, because it lets you choose where you would like the new one added.

Task 8: Formatting Numbers


When adding numbers to spreadsheets, sometimes there are certain ways you
want those numbers to appear. Examples of this may be as a percent, currency,
or as a time. Formatting numbers saves time, by automatically inserting a
percent or dollar sign.
Excel makes formatting number very similar to formatting text. In the toolbar
under the home tab, there is a section that reads number. When this section is
opened there is several different option for formatting numbers. Google Sheets
has a formatting tab on the tool bar that when selected has a number section,
under that section there are several different ways to format a number.

Figure 14: Excel Formatting numbers


Criteria
Microsoft Excel
Google Sheets

Figure 15: Sheets Formatting Numbers

Executed Quick and


Effectively
Strongly Agree (4)
Strongly Agree (4)

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Executed without Help


Strongly Agree (4)
Strongly Agree (4)

Both applications make formatting numbers simple and easy. Neither application
has an advantage over the other in this task.

Task 9: Sorting Cells


Sorting cells can greatly help navigating through a spreadsheet. Having the cells
sorted can help decrease the time spent searching for cells.
Excel makes sorting sells a similar process to formatting numbers. In the home
tab there is a section for editing, in this section there is a sorting button. When
the sorting button is selected there is a couple different ways you can sort the
cells and there is also a place where you can create a custom sorting. Sheets
has a data tab, and under that tab there is a couple different sorting options, but
no custom sorting option.

Figure 16: Excel cell sorting Figure 17: Sheets file shorting
Criteria
Microsoft Excel
Google Sheets

Executed Quick and


Effectively
Strongly Agree (4)
Agree (3)

Executed without Help


Strongly Agree (4)
Strongly Agree (4)

Excel has a slight advantage in sorting cells over Sheets, because Excel has a
custom sorting option.

Task 10: Statistical Analysis


Often times when dealing with numbers statistical analysis needs to be done.
Statistical analysis can be a very time consuming thing to do, so having a
spreadsheet do it would be very beneficial.

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Excel makes statistical Analysis easy, and with several different options. In the
data tab, there is a data analysis button. When that button is clicked, Excel gives
several options of statistical analysis. Google Sheets also makes this task very
easy, but does not have near as many options. On the tool bar there is a symbol
that when selected brings up different options.

Figure 18: Excel data analysis


Criteria
Microsoft Excel
Google Sheets

Figure 19: Sheets data analysis

Executed Quick and


Effectively
Strongly Agree (4)
Agree (3)

Executed without Help


Strongly Agree (4)
Strongly Agree (4)

Excel has a slight advantage in statistical analysis, only for the reason that it has
far more option. However, both applications make what they can do simple to
use.

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Summary of Results
Liken Score Comparison

Liken Score Total

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38
36
34
32
30

Excel

Sheets

Executed Quick and Effectively

Executed Without Help

Figure 20: Summary of Liken Scores

Recommendation
Based on the usability results, I would recommend Microsoft Excel. Excel tested to be
easier to use and I never needed to research Help. Google Sheets did have some
advantages over Excel, but they were small advantages. Overall, Microsoft Excel is
what I found to be the better spreadsheet application.

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