Excel for Cost Engineers

Tips, Tricks & Techniques

Glenn Butts
NASA
Kennedy Space Center
Index
Errors 3
Basics 5
Tab Colors 6
Data Validation 7
Drop Down Lists 8
Information Messages 9
Error Messages 10
Protect Formulas 11
VLookup 12
Named Ranges 13
Join Cell Values 14
Separate Values 15
Go-To 16
Absolute Cell Ref 17
Reveal Formulas 18
Formula Description 19
Rounding 20
Automatic Rounding 21
Conditional Formatting 22
Exporting Data 23
Subtotal 24
Autofilter 25
Conversions 26
IF Functions 27
Custom Functions 28
Spreadsheet Errors
Spreadsheet formula cells containing errors
2-5% experts
6-15% novices
Comparable to software code errors @ 5% in thousands of
inspections
Study included spreadsheets in use for some time
Individuals can find only 50-60% of them
Author finds less errors than others, immediately after creation
Finds more errors than others after reviewing a week after creation
Teams increases rate to ~80%
Error checking & testing requires ~ 1/3 of the development time
According to expert audits
94% of all spreadsheets inspected contain significant errors
Significant = affects final value by 5% or more
Spreadsheet Error Types
Three primary types
Simple Mistakes
Spelling
Incorrect Cell Reference
Most likely when referencing data in both different columns and
rows
Logic Errors
Incorrect formula as result of mistake in reasoning
Generally more logic errors than simple mistakes
Omissions
Items left out of spreadsheet, that should have been included
Most difficult to detect
The Basics
Formula Bar is for entering Formulas
Rows go across
Columns go up and down
Cells are individual boxes
Cells are addressed by column and
row. Cell D4 contains Cell
The Basics
Formulas declared with the = sign.
Operators are
Plus +
Minus
Times *
Divide /
Exponent ^
Brackets define order of operation ()
Example =2*2 would show 4 in the cell
Tab Colors
Right Click on Tab
Helps organize
workbooks
Data Validation Drop Down Lists
Data validation uses
Limit user inputs
Protect Formulas
Custom Messages
Drop down lists
Cell Range
Named Range
Data Validation Information Messages
Data validation uses
Limit user inputs
Protect Formulas
Custom Messages
Drop down lists
Cell Range
Named Range
Data Validation Error Messages
Data validation uses
Limit user inputs
Protect Formulas
Custom Messages
Drop down lists
Cell Range
Named Range
Data Validation Protect Formulas
Data validation uses
Limit user inputs
Protect Formulas
Custom Messages
Drop down lists
Cell Range
Named Range
Great for automating
spreadsheets, automatically
applying cost escalation
indexes, cost factors, etc.
Lookup_value, is the cell value
that you want to lookup from
your list
Table_array, is the address of
the list that you want to look in
Col_index_num, is the column
number that the answer will
come from.
Range_lookup, is optional, and
True requires an Exact match,
False does not require an
exact match.
VLookup (Vertical Lookup)
HLookup (Horizontal Lookup)
Comparable Function
Named Ranges Can Be
Individual Cell
Group (Cell Range)
Select cells - name in Name Box
Spaces not allowed
Can be referenced in formulas
=Sum(SF_Costs)
Found by setting zoom to any
percentage lower than 40%.
Named Ranges
Name Box
Named Range
Joining Cell Values
Concatenate (Joining Cell Values)
Cells values can be jointed together with
=A1&A2
If space needed between cell values
=A1& &A2


Or Concatenate function can be used
=CONCATENATE(B6," ",C6," ",," ",A6," ",D6," ",E6, ,F6)
Separating Cell Values
Values can be separated with formulas.
Remove the first value from a cell.


Remove last value.


Many other combinations possible.
Mary Mary had a little lamb
=LEFT(B3,FIND(" ",B3)-1) Mary had a little lamb
Mary had a little lamb lamb
Mary had a little lamb =RIGHT(B3,LEN(B3)-FIND("*",SUBSTITUTE(B3," ","*",LEN(B3)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(B3," ","")))))
Go To Special



Go To Special can be with F5
Key
Little known, occasionally very useful
Selects all worksheet cells that contain
the selected criteria, when selected they
can be color coded for easy
identification, or selected on a one by
one basis.

Absolute Cell References



Cell references are typically defined as =A1*A2.
Works fine unless formula is copied to another
location. If this happens the cell references will
change unless Absolute Cell References are
used.
=$A$1 will always refer to cell A1 regardless were the reference is copied
=$A1 will always refer to Column A, but row is allowed to shift
=A$1 will always refer to Row 1 but column is allowed to shift
1 =A1 =$A$1 =$A1
2 =A2 =$A$1 =$A2
3 =A3 =$A$1 =$A3
4 =A4 =$A$1 =$A4
5 =A5 =$A$1 =$A5
Reveal Formulas



Formulas on a worksheet revealed by
depressing Ctrl `
Will revert back by depressing Ctrl ` again.
=SUBTOTAL(1,$A$4:$A$17) Average Value
=SUBTOTAL(4,$A$4:$A$17) Maximum Value
=SUBTOTAL(5,$A$4:$A$17) Minimum Value
SF Costs
202
190
150
170
195
210
186 $ Average Value
210 $ Maximum Value
150 $ Minimum Value
SF Costs
202 $
190 $
150 $
170 $
195 $
210 $
Formula Descriptions
Typical Excel formula would be
=Average(A10:A100)*A1
Gives no indication of what formula does.
Descriptions can be added if proper format is
used.
N function returns value of 0 for any values.
Will not interfere with this calculation.
186.17
=AVERAGE(A6:A12)+N("Square Foot Costs")*5000+N("New Project Size")
Rounding
Estimates can be rounded with the formulas
=Round(A1,-1)







= INT rounds number down to the nearest integer
= EVEN rounds a positive number up & negative numbers down
= Roundup rounds number up away from zero
= Rounddown rounds number down, toward zero
9,555,455 9,555,460 =ROUND(B1,-1)
9,555,455 9,555,500 =ROUND(B2,-2)
9,555,455 9,560,000 =ROUND(B3,-4)
9,555,455 9,600,000 =ROUND(B4,-5)
9,555,455 10,000,000 =ROUND(B5,-6)
Automatic Rounding
Estimates can be rounded with the formula
Or automatically rounded using
=1.5-Log(A2)

Original Value Log Formula Rounding Formula
=1.5-LOG(A2) =ROUND(A2,B2)
97 -0.487 97
978 -1.490 980
9,778 -2.490 9,800
97,778 -3.490 98,000
977,778 -4.490 980,000
9,777,778 -5.490 9,800,000
97,777,778 -6.490 98,000,000
977,777,778 -7.490 980,000,000
9,777,777,778 -8.490 9,800,000,000
97,777,777,778 -9.490 98,000,000,000
977,777,777,778 -10.490 980,000,000,000
Great for
Templates
Conditional Formatting
Many choices, & up to three conditions
can be entered.
Can be copied with format painter.
202 $
190 $
150 $
170 $
195 $
210 $
Results
$ 210
$ 195
$ 170
$ 150
$ 190
$ 202
SF Costs
Minimum Value $ 150
Maximum Value $ 210
Average Value $ 186
$ 210
$ 195
$ 170
$ 150
$ 190
$ 202
SF Costs
Minimum Value $ 150
Maximum Value $ 210
Average Value $ 186
Exporting Data
Data sometimes does not copy well from Excel.
Press Shift button before selecting Edit menu,
options change.
186 $ Average Value
210 $ Maximum Value
150 $ Minimum Value
SF Costs
202 $
190 $
150 $
170 $
195 $
210 $
186 $ Average Value
210 $ Maximum Value
150 $ Minimum Value
SF Costs
202 $
190 $
150 $
170 $
195 $
210 $
Copy Results
Copy Picture Results
Subtotal Function
Subtotal functions very useful.
Multiple Subtotals ignored by other
Subtotals.
525 Average Value
900 Maximum Value
200 Minimum Value
Price
200
500
900
400
600
200
500
900
Function_num
1 AVERAGE
2 COUNT
3 COUNTA
4 MAX
5 MIN
6 PRODUCT
7 STDEV
8 STDEVP
9 SUM
10 VAR
11 VARP
SF Cost
Office 200 $
Office 200 $
Subtotal 200 $
Warehouse 100 $
Warehouse 100 $
Total 600 $
SF Cost
Office 200
Office 200
Subtotal =SUBTOTAL(9,B22:B23)
Warehouse 100
Warehouse 100
Total =SUBTOTAL(9,B19:B23)
AutoFilter
Great for
Finding Info
Quick Calculations
Space
Needed
206 $ Average Value
210 $ Maximum Value
202 $ Minimum Value
6 $ Standard Deviation
SF Costs Description
202 $ Office
210 $ Office
Unit Conversion
Excel Add In Function
Weight
Mass
Distance
Time
Pressure
Force
Energy
Power
Temperature
Liquid Measure
Must Be
Checked
IF Function
IF Functions have many uses
Can Be Nested
Works on Text or Numbers
Can be used to Eliminate #Ref, #Value, or
#Div/0
100
100
100
100 100
200 200
100
100 100
ABC
ABC
ABC
ABC ABC
DEF DEF
ABC
ABC ABC
=IF(B16=B17,"",B16)
0
#DIV/0!
=IF(F3>1, F3/G3,0)
Custom Functions
Almost Unlimited Capabilities
Must Be
Medium
Custom Functions
Insert Module
Double
Click
Module
Custom Functions
Write Code
Custom Functions
Results
Custom Functions
Economies of Scale = GBSize
Function GBSize(Historical_Size, New_Size) As Double
GBSize = 1.010001 * (New_Size / Historical_Size) ^ -0.101
End Function
Economies of Scale
175 $ Cost Per SF
30,000 Historical SF
4,000 New Project SF
123.8% Economies of Scale Factor
216.64 $ Adjusted SF Cost