How can non-technical end users effectively test their spreadsheets?

Purpose − An alarming number of spreadsheet faults have been reported in the literature, indicating that effective and easy-to-apply spreadsheet testing techniques are not available for “non-technical”, end-user programmers. This paper aims to alleviate the problem by introducing a metamorphic testing (MT) technique for spreadsheets. Design/methodology/approach − The paper discussed four common challenges encountered by end-user programmers when testing a spreadsheet. The MT technique was then discussed and how it could be used to solve the common challenges was explained. An experiment involving several “real-world” spreadsheets was performed to determine the viability and effectiveness of MT. Findings − Our experiment confirmed that MT is highly effective in spreadsheet fault detection, and yet MT is a general technique that can be easily used by end-user programmers to test a large variety of spreadsheet applications. Originality/value − The paper provides a detailed discussion of some common challenges of spreadsheet testing encountered by end-user programmers. To our best knowledge, the paper is the first that includes an empirical study of how effective MT is in spreadsheet fault detection from an end-user programmer’s perspective.