Why collaboration is Sheets' superpower in Google Sheets - Formula Trace Breakdown

Sample Data

This sheet shows a simple project task list with team members, their tasks, and current status.

Cell	Value
A1	Name
B1	Task
C1	Status
A2	Alice
B2	Design
C2	Done
A3	Bob
B3	Development
C3	In Progress
A4	Carol
B4	Testing
C4	Pending

Formula Trace

=COUNTIF(C2:C4, "Done")

Step 1: COUNTIF(C2:C4, "Done")

Cell Reference Map

    A       B           C
1 | Name  | Task      | Status   |
2 | Alice | Design    | Done     |
3 | Bob   | Development | In Progress |
4 | Carol | Testing   | Pending  |

Arrows: Formula looks at C2, C3, C4 for 'Done' count.

The formula references the Status column cells C2 to C4 to count how many tasks are marked 'Done'.

Result

    A       B           C       D
1 | Name  | Task      | Status   | Done Count |
2 | Alice | Design    | Done     | 1          |
3 | Bob   | Development | In Progress |          |
4 | Carol | Testing   | Pending  |           |

The formula result '1' appears in cell D2 showing one task is done. This helps the team see progress instantly.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the formula =COUNTIF(C2:C4, "Done") count?

A Number of team members

B Number of tasks marked as Done

C Number of tasks in progress

D Number of empty cells

Key Result

COUNTIF(range, criteria) counts how many cells in the range meet the criteria.