On the Emergence of Patterns for Spreadsheets Data Arrangements

Spreadsheets are widely used both by individuals as well as large companies in a vast plethora of application domains. One of the reasons for this popularity is the general purpose flexibility spreadsheets offer to the end user. This flexibility favors the existence of multiple spreadsheet designs regarding the physical organization of the data presented by a spreadsheet. Nevertheless, to the best of our knowledge, little is still known about patterns of spreadsheet data arrangements. Works refer the emergence of commonalities and templates but it is hard to find a systematic study on the topic that presents us catalogues. It is known that spreadsheets are extremely error-prone. Therefore, to know the typical data arrangement patterns can be very useful insight on how to build mechanisms and strategies in order to prevent errors regarding spreadsheets specification and maintenance. The present work aims at present data arrangement patterns that emerged from our studies and direct observation of real-world spreadsheet samples from two large datasets, and, additionally, a formal representation of the patterns identified through the use of conceptual models. © Springer International Publishing AG 2016.