Abstract:

Empirical researches suggest that errors inevitably accompany spreadsheets, which are nowadays one of most ubiquitous business tools, used to overcome the gaps between functionalities of existing, systematically developed, information systems and new, ad hoc requirements that these systems are faced with. Spreadsheets are most commonly developed by end-users who are not IT experts. End-user overconfidence acts as a strong catalyst for spreadsheet errors. Previous studies revealed that end-user overconfidence is inversely proportional to users’ level of awareness of different types of spreadsheet errors and possibilities of their occurrence. With reference to results of a study on errors present in spreadsheets used in Serbian SMEs on one hand, and content of spreadsheet related courses within Serbian business-oriented universities on the other, this paper emphasizes that not enough attention (if any) was devoted to raising awareness on the potential risks of spreadsheet errors at spreadsheet-related university courses. The paper proposes taxonomy of errors that could be studied as a standard segment of aforementioned courses.

Keywords:

Spreadsheet errors, end-user overconfidence, end-user development, university courses.