The "Fluffy Spreadsheet Model"

I want to encourage you to practice, practice, and practice the skills associated with this class. Becoming really comfortable with using a computer has many advantages:

In good jobs; that is, one's where you are given real responsibility and are paid for completing work rather than putting in hours ... the faster you complete the work, the sooner you can play.
When giving the necessary commands becomes second nature, you can devote more attention to producing high-quality, reliable work.
Pride.

So I want to encourage you to practice building the Fluffy Spreadsheet Model until you can complete it in a reasonably quick time -- and for this exercise, that means six minutes or less. The Fluffy Spreadsheet Model assumes a local firm is thinking about building a business around washing pets. The actual store would be located near Cub Foods and would let customers drop off their cat or dog for a thorough washing (complete with an automatic spin-cycle) while they shop for groceries nearby.

"Fluffy" Activity Description

Create a new folder in your P:\classwork\ba131 folder called Fluffy. Then, put a copy of this Fluffy.xls file in the new folder you just created. If you do this correctly, and if you are logged into the college's network, then you should be able to click on this P:\classwork\ba131\fluffy\fluffy.xls link to open the Fluffy.xls file with Microsoft Excel.
Change the formatting and build formulas to complete the Fluffy.xls model. As an example of a completed model, look at the following picture:

Caution! Do not edit or change any of the numbers in the worksheet: you are only to change formatting and build formulas. If you feel the urge to type numbers into the worksheet, don't do it!
You should build formulas that will copy well. For example, in the worksheet shown above, the formula for cell D7 should be "=C7+$B$21".
Do not put numbers in your formulas. Thus, the formula for D7 cannot be "=C7+1500" even though it will display the "correct" answer on the screen. Why is this so important? First, the numbers are well identified in the assumption block, but their meaning is obscure when they are buried in formulas. Second, people should be able to change the numbers in the assumption block to determine "What-if" answers about the spreadsheet model.
Use either an IF-test or a Max function to calculate taxes; that is, pay taxes only if Pretax Cashflow is positive.

Prior "Fluffy Model Building" winners

I've asked students in my BA271 class to complete this activity as an optional competition. Students who could complete the activity in six minutes or less were given a few bonus points in the class. The links in this section lead to videos they recorded showing how they went about building the spreadsheet model. I recommend playing a few of these entries to determine how someone with real model-building skill goes about completing work.

The five fastest winners during Spring term, 2006 were:

Jacob Talpos submitted this 2 minute and 23 second Fluffy Spreadsheet competition entry.
Nicholas Anderson submitted this 3 minute and 2 second Fluffy Spreadsheet competition entry.
Garrett McLeod submitted this 3minute and 2 second Fluffy Spreadsheet competition entry.
Rebecca Refvem submitted this 3 minute and 4 second Fluffy Spreadsheet competition entry.
Pinyarat Sirisomboonsuk submitted this 3 minute and 11 second Fluffy Spreadsheet competition entry.

The five fastest winners during Winter term, 2006 were:

Takuro Goto submitted this 2 minute and 38 second Fluffy Spreadsheet competition entry.
Eric Le submitted this 2 minute and 43 second Fluffy Spreadsheet competition entry.
Kaylee Pfennig submitted this 3 minute and 12 second Fluffy Spreadsheet competition entry.
Evan Dahlquist submitted this 3 minute and 16 second Fluffy Spreadsheet competition entry.
Jessica Gebhardt submitted this 3 minute and 34 second Fluffy Spreadsheet competition entry.

The top two winners during Spring term, 2005 included:

Bryan Jordan completed the task in 2:29 seconds.
Jonathan Lund completed the task in 2:29 seconds.

The top two winners during Fall term, 2005 included:

Andus Hui submitted this 2 minute and 10 second Fluffy Spreadsheet competition entry. Given the speed with which this model was built, I decided to overlook to fact that the column headings were poorly aligned with the numbers below them.
Sandila Ekaputri submitted this 3 minute and 36 second Fluffy Spreadsheet competition entry.

Recording an on-screen video:

I'd like you to record your work in a file named Fluffy.wmv; that is, a Windows Media Video file. This will let us play back the video to see what you did to complete the Fluffy model.
Use Microsoft Producer to record the Fluffy.wmv file.
- Microsoft Producer can be downloaded from the Microsoft website for free (as long as your computer already has a copy of Microsoft Office on it).
- As of January 2007, Microsoft Producer is installed on the computers in Bexell 120, but not on the computers in Bexell 112.
- Begin by opening Microsoft Producer and ask to "Start a new blank project".
- Give a Tools-Capture command and ask to capture a Video Screen Capture with Audio. We don't care about the audio portion of your video, so you don't have to talk during the recording session.
- Fill out the Capture Wizard dialog box as shown to the below.
  
  Thus, you should:
  - Minimize while capturing
  - Mute speakers
  - Set the Target Audience Connection to: "Corporate LAN connection at 300 kbps"
  - Set the Video Display Size to "Large - 800 x 600"
  - Open Excel and adjust its borders to fit within the 800 by 600 pixel outline.
  - Open the unformatted Fluffy.xls spreadsheet.
  - Click on the Capture button and begin formatting and building formulas as rapidly as you can.
- When you have finished building the Fluffy.xls spreadsheet model, return to Microsoft Producer and save your video as p:\classwork\ba131\fluffy\Fluffy.wmv.
- Send an email message to David Sullivan.
  - The message's subject line should say, "BA131, Fluffy Video"
  - The body of the message must say how long it took you to complete the model; that is, how long is your video.
  - Attach the Fluffy.wmv file to the email message.

Minor Grading Incentive

I don't want to change the basic grading system that Ray Tanner established ... but I also want to encourage you to engage in this activity. To meet both objectives, I will use this activity as a tie-breaker in determining final grades for this class. As an example, if you are just below the breakpoint or borderline between two grades, such as a C+ and a B-, then I will look at whether you successfully completed this activity. If you did, then I will give you the higher grade ... if not, then I will let your grade be determined by the usual grading rules.

If your final Fluffy model contains a logical error ... or if your model is not formatted correctly, your entry will be disqualified. I typically will give students who fall into this category one opportunity to determine what their error was and submit a revised entry.
While this is an optional activity, everyone should learn to build a well-formatted, logically-correct spreadsheet model in less than 6 minutes. As you practice this activity, your times will come down, and you will be learning useful shortcuts that will help you complete every computing task more quickly.
Don't become overly confident about your abilities because you can work quickly. Several people who were winners in BA271 spreadsheet competition failed to do well when the completed the spreadsheet model building portion of the BA271 Prerequisite Exam. My guess is they became so comfortable whipping out formulas that they forgot to take the time to carefully check their work for logical correctness. As a result, the bonus points they earned on the spreadsheet competition were lost on their errors during the BA271 Prerequisite Exam.

-- Dave Sullivan