The Wall and The Ball: A Study of Domain Referent Spreadsheet Errors

Abstract: The Cell Error Rate in simple spreadsheets averages about 2% to 5%. This CER has been measured in domain free environments. This paper compares the CERs occurring in domain free and applied domain tasks. The applied domain task requires the application of simple linear algebra to a costing problem. The results show that domain referent knowledge influences participants' approaches to spreadsheet creation and spreadsheet usage. The conclusion is that spreadsheet error making is influenced by domain knowledge and domain perception. Qualitative findings also suggest that spreadsheet error making is a part of overall human behaviour, and ought to be analyzed against this wider canvas.