Each day in our jobs, we encounter situations in which we need to store and process data. In the course of a year, this happens countless times. Whenever it happens, we reach for our favorite tool to get the job done, and for some cases that would be a spreadsheet. Over the years, I have amassed a large number of templates.

When we started out as entrepreneurs over 30 years ago, our accountant gave us a spreadsheet template to reconcile our bank account against our QuickBooks ledger. It helped identify outstanding checks or missing entries. To this day we still use this same Microsoft Excel template. It's an example of a situational app created using Microsoft Excel.

We tend to take spreadsheets for granted, but they are extremely powerful. Just consider all the things they do:

1. They have built-in visualization features to display bar graphs and charts of your data
2. They can be easily shared and edited by multiple users (at least the online version)
3. They are available on all desktops running Windows, Mac, or Linux, as well as tablets
4. Have many features supported by a large community of users that provide free education

Of course, there are limits to what you can do with spreadsheets. For the purpose of data collection, spreadsheets are fine. However, when the data needs to reviewed, modified, or tracked in specific sequence by different people, it begins to fall short. When the data needs to trigger some other process, it falls apart. Yes, it could theoretically be done with spreadsheets, but it would require a lot human intervention to get it done, and human intervention leads to human error -- not to mention, miscommunication. That is when you need to create an app -- or find the budget to have it created for you.

With the advent of no-code application development tools, business users can now create situational apps whenever the need arises. I once had colleague whose policy was that if he had to perform the same task four times a year, he would prefer to automate it. Today there are a number of tools that can do just that, and they offer advantages over using spreadsheets.

An important point to make about automation solutions is that it should not only be easy to create an app, but it has to be easy to deploy it to your coworkers. Otherwise, they will feel that the new tools are too burdensome and revert back to using spreadsheets or even older methods.

Let's look at some of the features that no-code application development platforms provide:

Effective Communication

Communication between process participants is important, and people use a variety of different communication tools, including email, voice, text messaging, and chat. Consider a group of coworkers sharing a spreadsheet. They may attempt to communicate with each other via email or by phone or by adding comments within the spreadsheet. However, this leads to a proliferation of information stored in different platforms, making it difficult for any one user to see all of the communication in one place. No-code platforms like iPhora Automate utilize multi-mode communications between participants that could include chat within Teams, Zoom or Sametime, text messaging, email or even inline comments -- all organized within a workflow process. For example, if a user declines a step in the process, you can force the user to explain the decision by adding a comment in the workflow history, which can then be posted in the media of choice.

Limit Data Access

With online spreadsheets like Microsoft Excel on MS 365, users can share the spreadsheet with others. The creator of the spreadsheet can limit access as to which users can see or edit the content at a given time. However, when sharing data within a process, there will be many times when only a specific user (the step performer) can edit or add content. Spreadsheets do not allow creators such fine control over when/where/who the content can be edited.

Controlled Sharing with External Users

Online solutions like MS 365 allows the owner to share the content of a spreadsheet with external users outside the organization via a link. However, it places the responsibility to keep that link secure on each participant. No-code workflow automation tools allow creators to design the app so that external users can access only limited data, and even then, only on certain steps of the process.

Limits Data Exposure and Control

Online spreadsheets can be shared among internal or external users within your organization. However, if the spreadsheet is not explicitly set to prevent it from being shared or downloaded, it can be emailed or copied to a third party. This creates a data exposure issue that frustrates administrators who are usually tasked with the responsibility of data control and security.

Other Advantages

All businesses have processes that are dependent on other processes. Some processed may trigger others, both sequentially and non-linearly. By using the right no-code automation tool, business users can design workflow apps that trigger and interact with other processes. In general, if you are using spreadsheets, the trigger is a manual one and most likely done through some form of communication, such as email, chat, text messaging or voice, all of which can lead to mistakes and inadequate tracking of project history..

Next time we will discuss situation apps and how they are the root of successful enterprise applications.

Part 1 - Situational Apps, What are They and Why They are Important