Why Minitab Workspace is a Superior Visio Substitute for Users of Continuous Improvement Tools, Lean Six Sigma Tools, Process Improvement Tools, and Quality Improvement Tools.
Many customers tell us how much they like Minitab Workspace, but experience pushback from IT leadership who question its need with having access to Visio. While it's true that many Microsoft 365 users have access to Visio and there is some overlap in the products, they have very different applications.
Microsoft positions Visio as a versatile tool to “create professional diagrams anytime.” While it can generate various diagrams, flowcharts, and organizational charts, it's not specifically designed for continuous improvement or data analysis. On the other hand, Minitab Workspace is specifically designed for data-driven professionals who need to visualize, analyze, and improve business processes.
Both products are user-friendly and well regarded. Minitab Workspace has slightly higher ratings on Capterra, and while it's considered a top collaboration platform on G2, both boast the same high overall ratings.
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What Sets Minitab Workspace Apart from Visio?
Like Visio, Minitab Workspace enables users to build a variety of tools from flow charts and process maps to swim lane diagrams and value stream maps. While these serve as an essential part of the process improvement toolkit, they don’t provide the full story. Workspace allows customers to execute projects AND provides additional tools to enable execution and analysis. Check out the differences in the chart below:
Brainstorming Tools -> Minitab Workspace offers brainstorming tools like Mind Maps, 4S, 8P, Fishbone Diagrams (or Cause and Effect Diagrams), Man Machines Materials, Idea Maps, and CT Trees.
Standard and Customizable Forms -> With a multitude of forms, Minitab Workspace provides a robust library of customizable and conditionally formatted forms. The list includes a standard FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis), a 30-60-90 Action Plan, a C&E Matrix (Cause & Effect Matrix), a Pugh Matrix, a Kano Model, an Impact Versus Effort Matrix, and so many more. Additionally, Minitab Workspace allows you to create custom tools and forms that can be shared across your organization, enhancing its versatility and ease of use.
Standard and Customizable Project Roadmaps -> Minitab Workspace offers a full swath of continuous improvement project roadmaps, including the DMAIC (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control), CDOV (Concept-Design-Optimize-Verify), QFD (Quality Functional Deployment), Kaizen Event, PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act), and Just Do It roadmaps. Minitab Workspace lets you customize project roadmaps using any desired template, ensuring consistent and successful project execution.
Monte Carlo Simulation -> Minitab Workspace allows even novices to create a Monte Carlo Simulation in just four simple steps. Using this tool can help account for risk in quantitative analysis and decision making which allows you to explore the behavior of the system faster, cheaper, and possibly even safer.
Minitab Workspace Supports Analytical Problem-Solving
While Visio’s objective is to enable fast and easy diagraming, Minitab Workspace’s objective is to utilize diagramming to solve problems. There's a significant difference between simply organizing data and applying it to address challenges. For example, both Visio and Workspace offer Value-Stream Mapping. However, Visio’s numbers are text strings and therefore can’t be used for key calculations whereas Workspace is able to recognize data and automatically calculate key performance metrics. While Visio gives you a nice visual of your value stream, Workspace provides the ability to adjust for improvements in addition to a similar diagram.
Minitab Workspace also provides Analysis Capture Tools specifically built for users of Minitab Statistical Software that help guide, summarize, and present statistical analyses. This further demonstrates how Minitab Workspace is designed as a versatile problem-solving tool that complements data-driven decision-making.
Diagramming or Problem Solving? Both.
Microsoft Visio and Minitab Workspace are both intuitive and affordable solutions. If you’re simply focused on flow charts, Visio is intuitive and likely easily accessible through your Microsoft 365 license. If you’re using the power of diagramming to get to root causes and problem solve, Minitab Workspace is a much more powerful tool. Happy mapping!
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