Introduction to the Risk Assessment Report
SummaryThis report shows many details in a quantitative fashion in a spreadsheet that was submitted to our server for analysis.
DetailsThe Risk Assessment Report is a PDF that is generated after analyzing a submitted spreadsheet via Incisive Online. It contains many details of a spreadsheet. These include;
- Workbook Statistics
- Named Ranges
- External Workbooks
- Sheet Statistics
- Function Statistics
- Unique Formulas
Each section of results in the Risk Assessment Report has its uses. Here are some ways that we have found to use each one. By focusing on the contents of the spreadsheet instread of its layout, some otherwise hidden details are revealed.
The Workbook Statistics section looks at the workbook as a whole. It displays the number of formulas used, and how many are unique. It shows the total number of sheets in the workbook as well as the number of formulas that reference a name. It shows the number of named ranged that are referenced, as well as the number of external workbooks that are referenced. It also shows the number of formulas that reference an external workbook. Finally, it also shows the number of cells that are used in the spreadsheet and the number of blank cells.
The Named Ranges section shows the names in the workbook and their definitions. These should be scanned for off workbook references, Excel type (#) errors, as well as referenced names (each has a count of the number of formulas which reference them). Sometimes names are generated by the spreadsheet application itself. Other times, the creator of the spreadsheet may have favored names as their preferred coding style.
The External Workbooks section reports on any workbooks that are referenced in the spreadsheet as well as if they are referenced in a name or in a function directly.
The Sheet Statistics section shows properties about each sheet. This includes whether or not protection was enabled on the sheet, whether or not the sheet was hidden or very hidden, and how many formulas are on that sheet. This is useful for identifying the names of hidden sheets, and upon which sheets has the bulk of the calculations. Sometimes, the output of the number of formulas can give you a hint on copied sheets as well.
The Function Use section identifies the functions that are used within the spreadsheet. It tells how many times they were used, as well as if those uses were in the "array" or regular style. This section can be useful to identify the skill set required to maintain this spreadsheet from a function use perspective. It also helps identify any odd cases. An example of this might be a function that is only used once.
Finally,the Unique Formulas section displays a count of the total number of unique formulas in the workbook. Each "different" formula used is displayed in this section. Two formulas are different if their R1C1 representations are different. In this way, a formula which sums the two cells to the left is the name formula no matter where it lies in the spreadsheet. This listing is useful to identify very long formulas, or sometimes formulas that are seldom used. It helps ask the right question: Why do I use that particular formula? It also exposes formulas that are excessively long.
Complimentary Risk Assessment Reports are available. Submit a spreadsheet for analysis today to see the power of the Risk Assessment Report.
There are some links to example analysis walkthroughs of this report at the main documentation page.
