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The majority of spreadsheet auditors perform a code inspection: they examine a spreadsheet's formulas, one at a time.
Steps in the process where OAK may be useful are
| 1 | Summarize workbook will prepare a table providing the main statistics of the workbook: number of worksheets, distinct formulas and so on. This is valuable in estimating how much effort will be involved in reviewing the spreadsheet. |
| 2 | Summarize workbook will also prepare a list of all the distinct formulas in the workbook, which can be divided up among the team members who are going to perform the inspection. |
| 3 | Code inspectors often like to map the workbook, to give a high level view of how formulas have been copied across the worksheet. |
| 4 | Build names database will provide a listing of any names that are defined in the workbook. Many people who perform a code inspection feel the need to check the definition of every one of these names. Alternatively, OAK can get rid of the names, leaving a coordinate-only version of the model to be checked. |
| 5 | Summarize workbook will deliver a list of all the values that serve as inputs to the model. These are candidates for checking one by one against any model data book or other description that has been provided of the model's assumptions. |
| 6 | Compare workbooks/worksheets, to understand how a new version of the model, which needs to be checked, differs from an older version that has been checked already |
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