THE PROBLEM

NextSigma develops, sells and supports an integrated software solution that enables Six Sigma technologists to accomplish project management, process improvement and data analysis within the structured Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (DMAIC) and Define-Measure-Analyze-Design-Validate (DMADV) methodologies. Successful Six Sigma projects require specific Six Sigma tools such as process mapping, FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis), fault tree analysis, SIPOC (Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customers) as well as data analysis capabilities. “Based on input from our customers, we knew we could help SixSigma professionals even more by providing advanced data analysis capabilities including Monte Carlo simulation, nonlinear optimization, regression, designed experiments, process capability, control charts and more,” said Scott Patrias, software development manager at NextSigma. The NextSigma development team was tasked to investigate how to provide these and other advanced data analysis capabilities within their software solution with minimum development cost and effort.

NextSigma first considered developing data analysis algorithms and functions in-house. They quickly determined that they could accelerate development and reduce their risk by licensing functionality from a commercial vendor. “As a software development company, our development team has a standing goal to get new releases quickly to our customers with rock-solid quality,” said Scott. “We knew a commercial library could allow us to leverage existing work but we needed to be sure the commercial product was robust enough to meet our requirements and would also integrate into our development environment of Microsoft Visual Basic and Visual Studio.”

THE SOLUTION

Based on a recommendation from one of their developers who had previous experience with the IMSL Libraries, NextSigma evaluated and selected the IMSL C# Numerical Library for Microsoft .NET Applications to provide advanced data analysis capabilities within their software solution.

“We were impressed with how easy it is to call IMSL C# Library objects from Visual Studio,” said Scott. “Once the IMSL C# Library assembly is added as a reference, all the functions are available directly from Visual Studio. There was really no training required for our development staff to use them.”

New features in SigmaWorks that are enabled by functions in the IMSL C# Library include Monte Carlo simulation, optimization and various types of data analysis.

Monte Carlo Simulation		Optimization
Data Analysis		Data Analysis

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

NextSigma reports value in using the IMSL C# Library from both a product and a development perspective. From a product perspective, the data analysis functions in the IMSL C# Library add needed functionality for SixSigma professionals and make the NextSigma product more valuable. The advanced data analysis functionality also opens up the potential market for NextSigma solutions to anyone who could require advanced analysis from a Microsoft Excel plug-in. NextSigma hopes to see additional revenue for their solution from markets outside of their traditional SixSigma and quality areas.

From a development perspective, NextSigma reports saving significant development time using the IMSL C# Library versus what they would have expected if they had developed the functionality in-house. In addition, the resulting software code is much cleaner – NextSigma reports that they now require far fewer lines of code to create the required functionality – making ongoing code maintenance much less complex.