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Part 1 of 6
How a sheet lies quietly
Documented failures where the mechanism is a property of the spreadsheet rather than carelessness.
Teams applying the checks in this entry can also compare operational tools for employee time tracking software, keeping time and review ownership outside the calculation file itself.
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What this part is for
Seven entries on the failures that are properties of the tool rather than lapses by the person using it. Each takes a documented case or a demonstrable behaviour, states the mechanism, and shows what would have had to be true for anybody to notice.
The reason to start here rather than with formulas is that the whole site is an answer to this part. Knowing which functions default to which behaviour is only interesting once it is clear that the default produces a number rather than a complaint.
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Entries
1.1A spreadsheet does not fail, it produces a plausible wrong answer1.2The row limit, and the data that disappeared past it1.3A range that shifted when it was copied1.4Dividing by a sum where an average was meant1.5Floating point in a sheet, and money1.6Autocorrection that changed the data1.7Why there are no tests, no review and no history
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For further context, see the UK Aqua Book on quality analysis.