Quiz: Why Teams Still Trust Spreadsheets After New Systems Go Live
A quick workplace quiz about why official systems, dashboards and ERPs go live while the spreadsheet and other offline artefacts are still trusted.
The System Is Live. Why Is Everyone Still Trusting FINAL_v18.xlsx?
The new system is live. The dashboard exists. The process was “standardised”.
Use these 5 questions to find out if there are other more trusted shadow processes lurking beside the new “standard.”
How Much Custody Does Excel Have?
Five quick questions. Please do not refresh the workbook mid-quiz.
What do you think is going on here?
True or false?
The system and spreadsheet have conflicting data. Which number wins?
Which sentence have you heard most often?
The trusted workbook disappears tomorrow. What happens?
Does this feel familiar?
Try the free five-minute check: Which Version Do People Actually Trust?
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The spreadsheet has custody.
This is Pattern spotting, not an organisational diagnosis. Some versions of the Pattern may exist for valid reasons. The useful question is whether the repeated step, owner and failure point are visible.
So... what did you just spot?
Shadow Excel Syndrome appears when the official system exists but the spreadsheet is still the thing people trust, inspect or use for the decision.
The spreadsheet is not automatically the villain. Sometimes it is preserving context the system has not learned how to carry yet.