Minitrack on Risks in End User Computing
Raymond R. Panko · 1996
Even the earliest writers on end user computing warned of the riskiness of end user application development [e.g., Davis, 19921. Initially, warnings were based on speculation or on scattered incidents of problems. The main target of current research on EUC riskiness seems to be spreadsheeting. This is hardly surprising. As the first paper in the minitrack notes, end users produce hundreds of millions of spreadsheet models each year, often to guide mission critical decisions. In recent years, several cases of spreadsheet errors have been reported [Business Week, 1984; Cragg & King, 1993; Davies and Ikin, 1987; Dhebar, 1993; Ditlea, 1987; Freeman, 1984; Gilman & Bulkeley, 1986; Hayen & Peters, 1989; Simkin, 19871. Given the reluctance of organizations to publicize embarrassments, these few cases may be only the tip of the iceberg. Some consultants, based on personal experience, have claimed that something like a third of all operational spreadsheet models contain errors [Creeth, 1985; Ditlea, 1987; Kee, 1988; Mason & Keane, 1989; Ronen, Palley, ‘& Lucas, 19891. One Price Waterhouse consultant reported auditing four large spreadsheet models for a client and finding 128 errors [Ditlea, 19871. Today, we are beginning to move beyond such reports of problem incidents and broad statements by consultants. The six papers in this minitrack represent a good sampling of recent research that has looked at risks in end user computing. I think you will agree that what they tell us about risks in end user computing is both compell ing and disturbing.