Dec
09 CXL
When I worked for GNF as a Java Developer, we regularly analyzed data from experiments scanning the entire Human Genome. Our experiments were expensive to run, so we often had only two runs of the experiment. Statistical analysis with a population of 2 is impossible, so all our analysis was ad hoc and based on feel and the experience of the researchers.
The researchers that we served inevitably wanted to "take a look at the numbers" themselves. One of the major features of our software package was a "freeze-dried" compressed image of a CSV file that could be downloaded and opened in Excel. The researchers all had their own favourite Excel tricks that they would use to analyze the results of their experiments.
Fast forward to working at an enterprise software company, as an Implementation Technical Consultant. I was the senior technical resource on a team that was responsible for a Fortune 500 company's installation of our software. This was a complicated process. There were multiple tracks, overlapping deadlines, dependencies, and conflicts. We used Basecamp to manage our communication with our customers. What we really ended up doing was trading spreadsheets with tables of TODO lists and deadlines. Basecamp became a simple document repository. We wasted time and effort figuring out Basecamp's versioning system and bumping up against its storage maximums. Attempts at migrating to Google Docs ran up against the limits of multiple people messing with one document.
I have had multiple conversations with people who work with spreadsheets, and all of them have a versioning problem. There are workarounds, but CXL will be a simple web-based solution that tracks your spreadsheet, allows you to integrate changes from teammates, control access, and keep control.
Sign up for the Beta in January 2015 by emailing dave@northcreek.ca.