Documenting A Day
Microsoft Office Suite is a standard for almost all work and school situations, as well as personal computer purchases. The suite typically includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Access, applications that are incredibly well-known, and commonly used. However, despite name recognition, the nuances and best uses for each application may not be quite as well-known. Exposure to different applications varies greatly based on an individual user’s needs. Word processor, presentation, spreadsheet and database applications each have their own specific functionality that can be best leveraged in different situations. I had the opportunity to explore these applications while documenting a day in my life.
A word processor like Microsoft Word is an essential part of written communication. This application allows for written work to be formatted neatly and consistently, easy to read and scan for important information, and able to be sent electronically. Word processors can enable documents like job aids or workplace memos to be formatted in a standard style that maintains a professional appearance. Different designs can be used to make a document more visually appealing, or to categorize. A company could use a design to be consistent across a department, to signify a different type of information, priority or retention. Fonts can be used to give a document a more casual or professional feel, bolding and italicizing can draw a reader’s eye to specific information. A professional writer could use a word processor to integrate an image, easily review for accuracy, and submit the document for review or publishing. Word processors also make it easy to create materials to mail that can be mass-produced and look professional. The disadvantage to word processing applications is the manual entry. While they can be reviewed easily for errors, information is intended to be input manually and less automation exists than in other applications. They are also most frequently used to create a clean and consistent appearance and other applications would be used more frequently for a visual reference. Word processing was the most appropriate application for journaling my day, as I was able to write in my personal voice and include all the details I chose to. The other applications didn’t present the full picture of my day as I was able to do using Word.
Presentation applications, such as PowerPoint, are used to create slideshows, typically to present information to a group. Creating slides can feel very similar to using a word processor, font and image options are utilized in both. But while word processing is meant to keep focus on a written communication, presentation applications’ purpose is maintaining attention on a verbal communication. While a written document can be referred to as needed, a presentation needs to be memorable. Presentation applications create a visually dynamic addition to a spoken message. The information is broken down into slides with key points highlighted in concise bullet points that the speaker will elaborate on. This makes the information easier to absorb and remember. Images are easily added, either to entertain or to inform. The slides can be straightforward or use a decorative theme, and transitions between slides and animations within them can draw in the audience’s focus. The most common use would be a speech or a sales pitch, but I used presentations frequently over the course of the pandemic for virtual training. Since we were unable to train side by side, we created slideshows with screenshots and tips to present a how-to guide over a virtual meeting. The presentations were an easy and fun way to turn a dry financial topic into something creative and memorable. This would have been an appropriate application if I had been presenting a day in my life in a virtual meeting, but the slideshow without a verbal presentation falls short. The biggest disadvantage to presentations is that they are not meant to store information for future use. I have maintained slideshows to repurpose for future training, but all the information to complete a work task is maintained in different applications.
Spreadsheet and database applications are more commonly confused, as they both store data. I think of the main difference as size. Database applications are large scale and can are meant to hold all the data. Spreadsheets are better for more specific data sets and are easily manageable for individual use. Using a spreadsheet to document a day in my life, I was able to do calculations of time and create a chart. This told a different story than one I would have verbalized, one that doesn’t have the essence of my day, but is better for analysis of a specific piece, time management. Likewise, working in finance, we make use of Excel spreadsheets to break up data for individual team members’ tasks. We can then use the formulas and formatting that makes our specific task more efficient. Spreadsheets are used often for home budgets, and some users even create games like Pac-Man using Excel (Jelen, 2022). The disadvantage to spreadsheets is the limitation. This is where database applications are used. Database applications store data and allow for it to be queried and analyzed. They have unlimited capacity, are more consistent, faster, have better multi-user use, and can create more stunning visual data representations than a spreadsheet can do (Ganchev, 2022). The disadvantages to database applications are their complexity and cost. Database applications have greater requirements of hardware and software to run, and due to the complexity of them, the people using them must have the technical skills to do so (Thakur, 2016). This makes database applications less accessible to the average person.
The functions of different applications vary greatly, but each of the word processing, presentation, spreadsheet, and database applications have advantages where others are lacking. Each application has a specific purpose that makes it the best possible use for its task. It’s no wonder that the ubiquitous Microsoft Office Suite tends to include a version of each of these applications. With a basic knowledge, a user can leverage these applications to review and communicate a wealth of information with pizzazz.
References
Ganchev, M. (2022, May 3). Database vs Spreadsheet: What’s the Difference? 365 DataScience.
https://365datascience.com/tutorials/sql-tutorials/database-vs-spreadsheet/
Jelen, B. (2022, August 5). Unusual Uses of Excel. Microsoft.
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/excel-blog/unusual-uses-of-excel/ba-p/3576867
Thakur, S. (2016, March 7). 13 Disadvantages of Database Management System (DBMS). What is
DBMS. https://whatisdbms.com/disadvantages-of-database-management-system-dbms/
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