Build a spreadsheet analysis tool that helps users identify formulas and workbook structures likely to cause slow recalculation, difficult maintenance, and fragile dependencies.
Allow users to upload supported Excel workbooks and inspect formula expressions, worksheet dimensions, named ranges, cross-sheet references, volatile functions, repeated calculations, and dependency chains.
Features should include:
Formula Inventory: Group formulas by function, pattern, worksheet, and dependency structure.
Recalculation Risk: Flag common performance risks such as excessive full-column references, repeated expensive expressions, volatile functions, and unnecessarily deep dependency chains.
Duplicate Logic Detection: Find formulas that perform similar calculations using different expressions.
Dependency Visualization: Show which formulas rely on the same upstream cells and which cells have many downstream dependents.
Optimization Suggestions: Propose alternative formulas or helper-column approaches with an explanation of trade-offs.
Before-and-After Review: Compare formula counts, dependency depth, and estimated structural complexity.
Safe Export: Generate a report and proposed formula replacements without silently overwriting the source workbook.
Preserve workbook formulas and formatting wherever possible. Clearly distinguish static analysis from actual runtime benchmarking. Never claim a formula is equivalent without validating relevant edge cases, including blanks, errors, dates, and text values. Include a synthetic workbook with deliberately inefficient formulas and automated analysis tests.
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