How do you turn a spreadsheet into an app?
Signs your spreadsheet should be an app
Spreadsheets are great for one person. They start to break when a group depends on them:
- Several people edit it and overwrite each other.
- Some people should see only their own rows.
- Something has to be approved before it counts.
- You need to know who changed what, and when.
- The file has a “do not touch this column” warning.
How to describe it
Explain the spreadsheet as if to a new colleague: what each row is, which columns matter, who adds rows and who checks them. For example: “Turn our equipment spreadsheet into an app: each row is a laptop or phone, who has it and when it is due back. IT edits; everyone else sees only their own devices.”
What you gain
Each person signs in and sees what their role allows. Approvals become a button instead of a colour. Every change is saved and can be undone. And when the process changes, you ask for the change instead of rebuilding the file.
