Configuration Standard¶
Centralize configuration¶
Any setting that affects how a product behaves across the whole workbook — currency symbol, fiscal year start, default assumption rates, unit of measure, display preferences — should live in a single, dedicated Setup/Configuration area, not be scattered as one-off values embedded inside individual formulas throughout the workbook.
Changing configuration should not require editing formulas¶
A customer (or a future maintainer) should be able to change a configuration value in the designated configuration area and have that change propagate everywhere it's used, without needing to locate and edit formulas in multiple tabs. This means formulas throughout the product should reference the configuration area (via named ranges or structured references) rather than hardcoding configuration values inline.
Practical guidance¶
- Every configuration value should be documented: what it controls, its valid range or options, and its default.
- Configuration values that are unlikely to ever change for a given customer (e.g., a fixed formula constant that isn't actually a customer preference) don't belong in the configuration area — reserve it for genuine settings, to avoid overwhelming the customer with irrelevant controls.
- Where a product has enough configuration to warrant it, group related settings together and label groups clearly (e.g., "Display Settings," "Calculation Assumptions").