1. I use Excel to conduct data exploration ('Is there something interesting going on here?' ) perform complex calculations, display results in organized tables or charts, and report information to others.

2. I use excel approximately half of my working day, maybe more. I used to use it exclusively, but I now conduct much more analysis using SQL and Tableau. Some of my reports are recurring (weekly, monthly, etc), and I have created dashboard like workbooks that dynamically update to minimize the work required to refresh data. But most of my work iis comprised of special data requests or long term, changing analyses.

3. About half of my workbooks get shared. Special requests are most often sent via email. Larger reports and recurring documents are posted to Sharepoint.

4. It is very, very rare that I store data in excel. I almost exclusively import it from SQL databases. The exception is census data found online. And even that is a paste at a moment in time. Data permanently stored in excel scares me. Seriously.

5. I have used quite a few docs with Macros (though I seem to use them less and less). They would run printing scripts, which would cycle through dynamic dashboard views; update formatting on large data sets; or import data directly from external data sources like other workbooks or SQL Server.

6. I don't have any workbooks that are single points of failure in any given process. My recucurring reports have many copies, and I have sql code to document my data pulls. Some analysis results could be painful to lose (a lot of successive calculations) but I could recreate them. Truly, the point of failure is me. I work alone for the most part, and other folks in the office probably couldn't pick up my work easily if I were hit by a bus.

7. Oh gosh. Excels best feature...I suppose it is the transparency of it's functionality. I can trace all its calculations, and 'watch' analyses happen visually, which I just can't do with SQL code. I couldn't live without Excel's selection of lookup functions. The worst is a tie between charting (and all the bugs inherent) and the lack of count distinct.