Revisiting the Panko-Halverson Taxonomy of Spreadsheet Errors

First, the taxonomy has been widely used. Therefore, it should have scrutiny. Second, the taxonomy has not widely available in its original form [Panko & Halverson, 1996]. Consequently, most users refer to secondary sources. Consequently, they often equate the taxonomy with the simplified extracts used in particular experiments or field studies. Third, perhaps as a consequence, most users use only a fraction of the taxonomy. In particular, they tend not to use the taxonomy’s life-cycle dimension. Fourth, the taxonomy has been tested against spreadsheets in experiments and spreadsheets in operational use. It is time to review how it has fared in these tests.