Useful logic is retained
Formulas, macros, dependencies and business rules are understood before anything is replaced.
About Mike Melling and Form & Figure
Mike Melling builds practical apps for complicated business processes.
Form & Figure is run by Mike Melling. The person who listens to how your process really works is the same person who designs, builds and supports the application.
Born, raised and based in Greater Manchester
Career history
A career spent finding the useful system hidden inside the spreadsheet.
Mike has spent more than a decade improving operational data, workflows and reporting. That includes years converting complex Excel-led processes into structured databases, while untangling the formulas, VBA and macros that quietly hold important work together.
- FirstUnderstand the workbook
Find the rules, exceptions and knowledge that have accumulated over time.
- ThenStructure the information
Turn scattered cells and duplicate records into dependable, connected data.
- NowBuild the better way to work
Wrap that knowledge in a clear application, workflow and live reporting.
A reliable foundation replaces workarounds
Workbook data becomes a structured source that can be validated, related, searched, reported and exported.
Information leads to action
Dashboards focus attention on decisions and exceptions, rather than simply on what is easy to chart.
Working approach
Understand it. Prototype it. Prove it.
The aim is not to sell the largest possible build. It is to identify a useful first workflow, show the answer early and reduce the risk of changing something the business relies on.
Map the real process
People, handoffs, decisions, data sources, workarounds and reports are considered together.
Test before committing
Fields, screens and statuses become a working prototype before the full build is fixed.
Switch with confidence
Where useful, the new app runs alongside the old system so real outputs and edge cases can be confirmed.
Principles
Clear scope. Dependable software. No dependency games.
Built to be understood, maintained and useful for years. Your data remains yours, with export and handover agreed in writing and ongoing care kept optional.