To keep the structure of the growing Excel lists somewhat under control, the various users agreed in a basic set of common rules: e.g. sequence of columns, keywords to be used, …
But the more complex the list becomes, the less people stick to the agreements.
A certain frustration arises because the shared Excel files get out of control due to a high level of complexity and the previous advantages of freedom now turn into the opposite.
Everything depends on verbal agreements of the various users, but there is no guarantee of consistency, and it is difficult to “burn” rules into an Excel file.
would be that members of the team start working with their own local copies.
reducing the size and complexity of lists while keeping the main overview for comparisons between different sources and to ensure a consistent and suitable structure for multi-purpose tables and data quality…