Spreadsheets can be seen as end-user programming environments that can sometimes grow out into full-blown business-critical applications. In the SSaaPP project, the University of Minho and SIG develop techniques enjoying the benefits of spreadsheets (high flexibility and usability) while mitigating the risks they may pose (high error rates).

Spreadsheets are software developed by non-programmers. They are used for accounting, project management, resource planning, and many more business functions. Often, they are initially developed by a single employee for his or her own benefit but then get shared and enhanced and may grow out into full-blown business-critical applications. Unfortunately, spreadsheets are notoriously error prone and problematic to maintain.
 
SIG participates in a research project of the University of Minho (Braga, Portugal) entitled "Spreadsheets as a Programming Paradigm (SSaaPP)". In this project, quality issues with spreadsheets that occur during their use and evolution are investigated, and instruments are created to measure and control their quality on the enterprise level. SIG will contribute to the project with its expertise on software quality and evolution. The project is co-funded by the Portuguese research foundation. For more information on how your organisation can profit from this research, please contact Joost Visser, Head Research, .