Minitab Engage

Minitab Engage is a software solution designed to assist organizations in building improvement and innovation programs, executing them with problem-solving tools and project management methodologies, and tracking key performance metrics in real-time to demonstrate return on investment (ROI). This versatile product caters to small, medium, and large businesses across various industries and is particularly beneficial for professionals in the fields of business analysis, engineering, information technology, supply chain, and research and development.

Key Features

Lean: According to the vendor, Minitab Engage provides a comprehensive set of customizable Lean tools in one easy-to-use, easy-to-share file. These tools include Value Stream Map, Process Map, Fishbone (Cause and Effect Diagram), True North Metrics, and CT Tree. Users can organize project tools and artifacts with customizable roadmaps and store related documents inside projects for seamless collaboration.

Idea and Innovation Management Platform: The vendor states that Minitab Engage allows users to generate ideas around unlimited topics and opportunities using the idea form. It can be customized to focus on specific areas and helps identify areas for growth, cost savings, and value creation. The innovation form gathers essential information, and users receive automated insights about ideas.

Design for Six Sigma: Minitab Engage includes an integrated DfSS toolkit for efficient commercialization of new products and processes. Users can follow a proven CDOV roadmap or create a custom roadmap. The toolkit offers tools such as Pairwise Comparison Matrix, Houses of Quality, Design Scorecards, Pugh Matrix, Hierarchical and Functional Decomposition diagrams, FMEA, and DOE planning. Additionally, the software allows for Monte Carlo simulation to optimize product and process performance.

Workflow: According to the vendor, Minitab Engage enables users to generate, submit, and gather ideas through a customizable web-based idea form. Ideas can be scored and weighted based on strategic priorities and routed to the appropriate individuals for evaluation and prioritization. The software allows for tracking of ideas throughout execution, recording data changes, and receiving automated notifications and emails. Users can implement formal stage gate reviews and choose from standard workflow methodologies or define their own.

Repository: Minitab Engage offers a secure centralized repository for project file storage. Users can access the repository from anywhere, and project access can be restricted with access rights set by project owners and administrators. Sharing project links via email is made easy, and the software provides an organized folder structure for efficient storage.

Dashboard: The vendor states that Minitab Engage provides real-time reporting on program's hard and soft savings, project duration, number of projects started, and more. Users can customize reports and chart options, set targets for key metrics, and color-code performance relative to targets. The software offers 24/7 access with international number and date displays, allows users to search reports by keyword, and provides the option to save reports to PDF. Task reporting functionality is also available.

License Portal: Minitab Engage allows users to set user roles such as Idea Submitter, User, Administrator, Data Architect, and License Administrator to manage access and permissions effectively.

Desktop App: According to the vendor, Minitab Engage provides forms with formulas, conditional formatting, and customization options in the desktop app. Included forms cover various project aspects such as Project Charter, Fishbone, C&E Matrix, Process Map, Value Stream Map, Monte Carlo Simulation, and more.

Mapping Tools: Minitab Engage offers mapping tools for creating detailed Process Maps (Flowchart, Process diagram), including Cross Functional Process Maps and Swimlanes. Users can visualize Value Stream Maps with a Takt time calculator and compare current vs. future state. Additionally, the software provides an Organizational Chart to represent hierarchical relationships.

Monte Carlo Simulation: The vendor states that Minitab Engage allows users to optimize parameters, perform sensitivity analysis, and import data from Minitab. The software suggests distributions based on available data to enhance simulation accuracy.