Justification of Design
The spreadsheet has been designed with a validation rule for the cell where the total number of packs is entered, so an error message will be displayed if he enters less than 1000. This enables me to make sure Barry does not have less than 1000 packs.
This spreadsheet has been designed so that there are separate columns and cells for each price. This enables me to show clearly the costs of everything Barry will need.
Part of the spreadsheet has been designed with formulae to round up numbers. This enables me to work out how many visitors Lancre Theme Park will need to cover all the costs, and to round this number up.
The spreadsheet has been designed with different coloured backgrounds for each section. This makes it easier for the reader to make sense of the spreadsheet.
I have designed the spreadsheet with slightly wider columns, so that the writing can fit in comfortably and still be read clearly.
I have designed the spreadsheet with headings that tell the reader what the spreadsheet is about at a glance, especially if there are lots of different sections. I have written the headings in Arial font, as it is very clear and readable. I have used size 14, showing that the headings are more important than the rest of the information.
I have designed the text in the spreadsheet in Arial as well, to show that it links to the title, but I have used size 10 or 12 font, so as not to contest the importance of the title.
Justification of software
I have used Microsoft Excel because it is a wide-spread tool which is known worldwide in conjunction with the OpenOffice.org tool. It is also easy to use and was provided to me free-of-charge from the school. I am using Microsoft Word for similar reasons- it is well designed for its purpose and is convenient for me to use in this position.
Word and Excel allow me to:
Make some words bold to stand out;
Add titles in different fonts for emphasis,
Add colour to make text look more interesting.