Help Manual

Contents






Sigma Magic Help Version 17

Options

Overview

 The Options menu can set Sigma Magic Software's default behavior. These settings are saved between sessions and will be used the next time you use Sigma Magic software.

   The options menu describes common elements that can be set once and used in future worksheets as required. For example, you can set the confidence level in the options menu once, and this value will be used in any future worksheet you create that requires the confidence level. Of course, the option's value will not affect any existing sheets that have already been created. A sample screenshot of the main menu bar is shown below.

   The Options dialog box can be opened by clicking the Options button in the Miscellaneous menu on the main screen.    main menu

User Details

   An example screenshot of the User options is shown in the figure below.
   options 1
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Options Tab: The Options tab helps you navigate between the different pages available within the Options menu. You can switch between the following pages.
OptionDescription
User DetailsContains details of the user profile such as name, email, location, etc.
Install SettingsContains the basic installation settings usually required during installation.
General SettingsContains some basic settings for the software function usually required to be set up during installation.
External FilesSpecifies location of external resources like files.
ThresholdsSpecifies the threshold values for commonly used parameters like confidence level, power, etc.
SubroutinesContains helper subroutines related to this program.
ResetReset the settings back to the default values.
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User Name: Enter the full name of the user. Note that this is an optional field; however, you are encouraged to enter a name to identify the user if you need to communicate with us for any reason.
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Email: Enter the email address you want to use. You cannot submit error logs or feedback without a valid email address. We will use this email address to send you information about product updates, license details, etc. Note that we have a strict privacy policy, and your email address will not be shared with anyone. Any changes to your email address are only effective after you confirm this email address. If you change your email address, you will need to click on the Update button for this to take effect.
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Confirmation Code: When you enter a new email address, you will need to confirm that this email address belongs to you. To confirm your email address, a test email with a random 8-digit code will be sent to you. You must enter the code you received in your email by typing the code here. If the code matches okay, a green checkmark is shown next to the email address; otherwise, it will show that a red crossmark does not validate the email address. If you have not received an email confirmation code, click "Send me an email confirmation code" to resend the email. Check your junk mail folder if you don't receive an email code within a few minutes.
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Company Name: Enter the name of your company or university. Note that this is an optional field. However, you are encouraged to enter this value so that we can understand the types of users using our software application.
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Location: Enter the country where you are using this software. This is an optional field; we only use this information to aggregate the regions of the world that have installed and are using the Sigma Magic software.
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Marketing Records: You can click this checkbox to inform us not to contact you for any marketing reason. If you leave this box unchecked, we will not send you any promotional material. However, you may still receive product updates and license information required for your software to work effectively.
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Profile Picture: Click on the profile picture to upload a picture for the current user. Note that the picture is only saved locally on your computer and is not uploaded to the server. This action is optional.
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Reset Button: Click the Reset Button to delete and replace the current settings with the default values.
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Help Button: You can click on the Help button anytime to view the help information on this topic.
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OK Button: Click on the OK Button to save any changes you have made to the dialog box.
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Cancel Button: Click on the Cancel Button to cancel any changes you have made to the dialog box.
Please note that our strong privacy policy of Rapid Sigma Solutions LLP governs any information you submit to us. You can view the Privacy Policy on our website for more details.

Installation Settings

   Click the Install Settings button on the right to open the Install Settings dialog box. An example screenshot of the Installation options is shown in the figure below.
   options 2
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Release Key: If you are using a shared multi-computer license key, then you can use this menu option to control when your computer releases the license key.
OptionDescription
YesRelease the shared license key when you log out of Sigma Magic software. This will allow other users in the company to get the license key when needed, and you will no longer be using the software. When you log back into the computer again, you must wait for another user to release the license key before using the Sigma Magic software.
NoDo not release the shared license key when you log out of Sigma Magic software. You would use this option to keep your existing license key allocated to your computer. Since you have not released the license key, your license is still active, and you do not need to wait for other users to release it to use the software.
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Check Updates: This option specifies how often Sigma Magic will check for updates. Note that software checks for updates on our server; hence, Internet access needs to be enabled to check for and download any updates.    
OptionDescription
On StartupThe software will check for any available updates when you start the Sigma Magic software when you click on Sigma Magic on the main menu bar the first time after you open Excel. This is the recommended setting, so your software is always up-to-date with all upgrades & bug fixes.
NeverThe software will never check for any updates.
MonthlyThe software will check for updates to your software once per month. Note that this requires you to have opened Sigma Magic software. If less than a month has passed since the last check, the software will not check for any updates.
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Proxy Setting: The proxy option lets you specify a proxy address and port to enable your system to connect to the Internet if you are behind a firewall. Connection to the Internet is required to validate your license keys and to submit any error reports to the company for resolution. If your company is behind a firewall, you can try to set the Proxy within the Internet Explorer software (under Advanced Settings). Sigma Magic software will automatically pick it up from the Explorer settings. If not, you can specify the proxy address here. Select the checkbox next to Proxy to indicate to the software that you must use a proxy to access the Internet.
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Catchup Delay: Sometimes, Excel cannot copy and paste shapes from one location to another due to limited bandwidth or lack of resources. In such cases, it helps to add a slight delay into the loop and gives Excel time to complete the copy-and-paste operation. You can specify the delay in seconds for Excel to complete this operation. Note that the longer the time you select here, the slower the copying operation will be - especially if you have many images to copy and paste. Start with a value of 0 and slowly increase it to a value required for your computer if you encounter problems with the copy and paste operation.
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Menu Language: The menu language lets you specify the language setting of the main menu. By default, the English language is used. If you want other languages for the Main Menu, place the translated files in the Languages folder in the Install directory. Any languages defined in this folder will appear in this form for selection. Note that any changes to the language will only take effect when re-starting Excel software. The following table shows the list of languages currently shipped with the software.        
OptionDescription
EnglishShows the main menus in the English language. This is the default setting.
SpanishShows the main menus in the Spanish language.
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Top Menus: You can use this option to specify the menus for the Tool Wizard. By default, all tools are displayed and categorized under the following sections. This option is currently not enabled at the user end to add or modify the tools in the tool wizard.
OptionDescription
AllDisplays a list of all available tools arranged in alphabetical order.
AnalyticsSpecifies the tools related to analytics methodology. These tools use the R software at the back end.
ChangeSpecifies the tools related to the change management methodology.
GraphSpecifies the tools related to the plotting graphs and charts.
LeanSpecifies the tools related to the lean methodology.
ProjectsSpecifies the tools related to the continuous improvement & project methodologies.
StatsSpecifies the tools related to the statistical analysis methodology.
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Userform Size: This menu is not currently enabled, but it can be used to control the size of the user, such as the input dialog box. Currently, you can control the size of the user by adjusting the zoom factor within your display settings on your computer.
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Info Messages: You can specify how the software displays status messages. The status messages option can be used to display the status of the progress of the calculations or if the software wants to report any problems with data entry or analysis. The following options are available:
OptionDescription
NoneStatus messages are suppressed and not displayed to the user. This setting is not recommended, as important system messages may be hidden.
WorksheetAll status messages are displayed at the top of the worksheet. You can use this option if you do not want to press the OK/Close Button on the status messages. But look for any messages at the top of the worksheet.
Status BarAll status messages are displayed at the bottom status bar of Excel. You can use this option if you do not want to press the OK/Close Button on the status messages. Look for any messages at the bottom status bar of Excel.
Popup WindowAll status messages are displayed using a popup window. The user may need to click the OK or Close Button to close this message. This is the recommended setting for this software.
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Startup Messages:
OptionDescription
YesDisplay the startup dialog box when the user starts Sigma Magic software for the first time. The startup dialog box can help users create a new project file or open an existing project file.
NoDo not display the startup dialog box when the user starts Sigma Magic software. The user can continue to work with the currently open Excel file. You can manually open the startup file by clicking the Open Button on the main menu bar anytime.
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Error Messages: Specify how error messages should be displayed. The following options are available.
OptionDescription
NoneError messages are suppressed and not displayed to the user. This setting is not recommended, as important system messages may be hidden.
WorksheetAll error messages are displayed at the top of the worksheet. You can use this option if you do not want to press the OK/Close Button on the error messages. But look for any messages at the top of the worksheet.
Status BarAll error messages are displayed at the bottom status bar of Excel. You can use this option if you do not want to press the OK/Close Button on the error messages. Look for any messages at the bottom status bar of Excel.
Popup WindowAll error messages are displayed using a popup window. The user may need to click the OK or Close Button to close this message. This is the recommended setting for this software.
   
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Help Viewer: This option specifies how the help file will be displayed to the user.
OptionDescription
OfflineDisplay the help file on your local computer using the HTML viewer.
OnlineView the help files on the server. If you choose the Online option, the software will display the help files stored on the Sigma Magic server. The online option requires Internet access to view the help files. If you have not installed updates on your computer, the online options files may be more recent than the offline help files stored on your computer.
   
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Log File: This setting will let you save critical error information to the hard disk that can be used to troubleshoot any problems you may be having. No information is stored on your hard disk if you choose not to save the log file. The log file is stored in the temporary folder on your computer under the SigmaMagic folder.

General Settings

An example screenshot of the General settings is shown in the figure below.
options 3
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Date Format:       This format will be used wherever data has to be displayed on the worksheet. Use one of the standard built-in formats, or choose a "Custom" format to define your format. The following options are available.
OptionDescription
AutoThe software will pick a date format for you. This is the default value.
CustomYou can manually specify the date format using your format. Use dd to indicate the date, mm for a two-digit month, or mmm for a three-letter abbreviation of the month, yy for a two-digit year, you for a four-digit year, hh for hours, mm for minutes, and ss for seconds.
ShortThe date is printed as 11-10-2020
MediumThe date is printed as 11-Oct-2020
LongThe date is printed as 11-October-2020
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Number Format: This format will format any numeric values printed in the outputs area. Use one of the standard built-in formats, or choose a "Custom" format and specify your format. The standard format Fixed-3 means it will print all floating-point numbers using three decimal places. You can specify your custom format using standard Excel functionality, use 0 to force the printout of a digit or # to print digits where required, period to indicate the decimal place, and E for scientific, exponential notation.
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Graph Height: You can use this option to specify the height of the graphs on each worksheet. The graph's height is specified as the number of rows that should be used to display the graph.
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Graph Width: You can use this option to specify the width of the graphs on each worksheet. The width of the graph can be set to "Auto," and the system will not modify the graph width specified in the tool. The width of the graph will be set to the width of the column. However, you can choose a different width setting, and the size of the graph column can be modified.
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Graph Spacing: You can use this option to specify the spacing between two graphs. A value of 0 implies no spacing. The larger the value, the larger the spacing between charts.
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Graph Border Thickness: You can use this option to specify the thickness of the graph border.
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Graph Line Thickness: You can use this option to specify the thickness of the lines used within the graph.
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Graph Marker Size: You can use this option to specify the size of the markers used in the graph.
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Analysis Outputs: Specify the types of outputs that need to be displayed in the notes window.
OptionDescription
Input SummaryDisplay a summary of the inputs used for this analysis.
Assumption ChecksCheck the assumptions for the selected analysis and display them in the notes window.
Analysis ResultsDisplay the results of the analysis in the notes window.
ConclusionsDisplay the conclusions for the selected analysis in the notes window.
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Reset Options: You can click on this Button to reset all the settings on this page to their default values. Note that there is no undo button, and once the settings have been reset, there is no way to return to the older settings.
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Cancel Button: Click this Button to discard all changes and exit the Optional settings dialog box.

External Files

   Click on the External Files button to open the dialog box for External Files. An example screenshot of the External File settings is shown in the figure below.
   options 4
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Project Folder: Click on the Browse button to specify the default project folder. Note that you need to specify the directory of the project files. The Excel files in this folder are listed when you open a new project file.
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Data File Folder: Click the Browse button to specify the default folder where data files are located. Note that you need to specify the directory of the data files. The Excel project files specified in this folder are listed when you open a new one.
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Browser File:     You can specify which browser you want to use to open web content. If you leave this field blank, the Sigma Magic software will try to use Microsoft Internet Explorer. To specify this file, click the Browse button and look for the browser executable file you want.
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RSCript File:     All Analytics tools within Sigma Magic utilize the R software in the background to perform the analysis.     R software must be installed on your computer to use this analysis. Once R software is installed, click the browse button and link the RScript.exe file to Sigma Magic. A tick mark will appear next to this row if everything works fine.
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Worksheet Logo:     You can specify a Logo to replace the Sigma Magic logo on the worksheet. Note that this will.     Replace the logo on newly created sheets, and do not alter sheets created before the logo was modified.
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Default File:     This field is used to set the default folder location that will be selected when     the user clicks on Open button within the Manage Files group. To change this folder, click the Browse button and select the appropriate folder. This folder should usually point to your home directory or the My Documents folder.
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PowerPoint Template: You can specify the PowerPoint presentation template when Sigma Magic exports data from Excel to PowerPoint. This template will control the look and feel of the PowerPoint file. You can change the PowerPoint template by clicking the browse button and pointing to another template. Note that PowerPoint templates have an extension *.pot.
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Reset Settings: You can click on this Button to reset all the settings on this page to their default values. Note that there is no undo button, and once the settings have been reset, there is no way to return to the older settings.

Threshold Settings

   An example screenshot of the Threshold settings is shown in the figure below.
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Confidence Level: This option can be used to set the value of the confidence level. The initial default value is set at 95%. Possible values are between 0 and 100%. You can enter a value in the combo box or click on the shape to select a value.
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Power Level: This option can be used to set the value for the Power of the test. The initial default value is set at 90%. Possible values are between 0 and 100%.
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Model Reduction Alpha: This option can set the type I error (alpha value). The initial default value is set at 10%. Possible values are between 0 and 100%.
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MSA Alpha: This option can set the type I error (alpha value) for model reduction during MSA. The initial default value is set at 10%. Possible values are between 0 and 100%.
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MSA Percentage Limits: This option can set the acceptable values for the Measurement Systems Analysis when the data is continuous or discrete. The default values are 70% and 90%. Anything less than 70% is unacceptable, between 70-90% is marginal, and greater than 90% is excellent.
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MSA Kappa Limits: This option can set the acceptable values for the Measurement Systems Analysis when the data is nominal. The default values are 0.7 and 0.9. Anything less than 0.7 is unacceptable, 0.7-0.9 is marginal, and greater than 0.9 is excellent.
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MSA Kendall Limits: This option can set the acceptable measurement Systems Analysis values when the data is ordinal. The default values are 0.7 and 0.9. Anything less than 0.7 is unacceptable, 0.7-0.9 is marginal, and greater than 0.9 is excellent.
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Regression R^2 Limits: This option specifies the acceptable values for the coefficient of determination (R^2). The default values greater than 70% are excellent, and less than 30% are poor and acceptable.
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Cpk Limits: This option can be used to set the acceptable values for the process capability indices. The default values are 1.33 and 1.67. Anything less than 1.33 is unacceptable, between 1.33 and 1.67 is marginal and greater than 1.67 is excellent.
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Z Score Limits: This option can set the acceptable values for the Sigma level (Z scores). The default values are 3 and 6. Anything less than 3 is unacceptable, between 3 and 6 is marginal, and greater than six is excellent.
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Reset Button: You can click on this Button to reset all the settings on this page to their default values. Note that there is no undo button, and once the settings have been reset, there is no way to go back to the older settings.

Subroutines

This page contains a few helpful subroutines related to the Sigma Magic software. You will need to click on the appropriate Button to launch the subroutine.
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Install Tests: You can click this Button to run many tests and check if your software has been installed correctly. This test could be part of your initial software qualification tests. More details about this test are shown in the section below.
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Validation Runs: You can click on this Button to run some validation tests on your computer to ensure that the results obtained match those obtained on the development computer. You can pick which tests you want to run, and the software will run those tests and give you a report of which tests passed and which failed.
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Methodologies: You can use the Methodologies button to define custom methodologies that are of specific interest to you. Instead of looking through a generic list of tools that may not apply to your project, you can group the tools differently that make more sense to your project. For example, suppose your team is working on the DMAIC methodology to make improvements. In that case, you can define the DMAIC methodology and group your company's most commonly used tools for each project phase. This will enable your team to find the tools relevant to your company efficiently. More details about this feature are shown in the section below.
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Load Settings: You can click on this Button to load the settings you may have saved earlier. This could be useful if you have corrupted or want to replicate another user's settings.
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Save Settings: You can click this Button to save all your optional settings to a file. The default file name is SMSettings.ini. This file contains all the settings you have customized for your software and save it to a file. You can reload the settings later if you need to reinstall the software or move the settings to another computer. You can also share these settings files with your friends and colleagues, and they can replicate your settings on their computers. Note that some settings, such as file folders, may not work on other computers. For example, if your default file folder is set to C:\Users\Sam. The same file folder may not be available on another computer as the user name will probably differ. Hence, if you share the settings with other users, ensure that all the personalized information, such as your specific directories, is not included in your Options settings before you save the file.
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Shortcut Keys: You can click this Button to specify the mapping for the shortcut keys. The software will map the following shortcut keys on your computer by default.
KeyAction
F1Launch the help file for the selected tool.
F2Open the Analysis Setup for the selected tool.
F3Recompute the Analysis Outputs for the selected tool.
F4Open the data editor to view or edit the data available for analysis.
F5Duplicate the current tool to run what-if analysis as required.
You can use the Shortcut Keys manager to map the shortcuts that are of interest or more convenient to you.
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Fonts & Colors: You can specify the fonts and colors for various template elements, including the notes and graphs section. See the below section for more details.
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Unload Software: If you are not planning to use the software for a while and want to unload it from Microsoft Excel, click the Unload Software Button. This will remove the Add-In from Excel, and the Sigma Magic software icon will not appear on the Excel main menu bar. Note that this will not remove the software from your computer or delete any files. To reload the Sigma Magic software, go to Excel > Options > Add-Ins and reselect the Sigma Magic software to load it back into Excel. If you want to remove Sigma Magic software from your computer permanently, uninstall it from the Control Panel.

Install Tests

The Install Tests button helps us run some pre-checks to make sure that the software has been properly installed. These tests could be part of your software installation qualification reports. To complete this report, open the Validation folder in your software install directory. There is a Word file that you can fill out to document your software's initial qualification. The following tests are performed when you click on this Button:
#Description
1Check if the OS is suitable for this install. A green checkmark next to this test indicates the test has passed.
2Check if there is sufficient disk space for this software to run properly. If the disk space exceeds the minimum requirement, a green checkmark will be placed next to it.
3Check if the computer has sufficient memory for the software to run. If the physical memory is sufficient, a green checkmark will be placed next to it.
4Check if this software supports the region settings on the computer. A green checkmark indicates if the check is passed.
5Check if the Internet connection is available for the software to acquire and release licenses. A green checkmark indicates if the check is passed.
6Check if this software supports the Excel version of the software. A green checkmark indicates if the check is passed.
7Check if you are currently using the latest version of the Sigma Magic software. A green checkmark indicates if the check is passed.
8Check if R software has been installed on this computer - which is required for Analytics. A green checkmark indicates if the check is passed.
9Run some standard function tests to see if the computer is generating outputs as expected. A green checkmark indicates if the check is passed.

A sample screenshot of the opened dialog box is shown below.   Install Tests
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Checks:     Ensure all the checks for each test are in green for a successful test installation. If any indicators show a red cross mark, you must investigate and fix this problem before using the software.
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Report Date:     The date this report is generated is listed on the screen for documentation purposes.
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Camera:     Click on the Camera button to take a snapshot of the dialog box for your documentation. You can attach this image to your reports as required.
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Help Button:     Opens the help file for this dialog box.

Validation Runs

The Validation Runs button can be used to test if the software is generating analysis results as expected. This test could be part of your software operational qualification report. To complete this report, open the Validation folder in your software install directory. There is a Word file that you can fill out to document your software operational qualification. This report contains User Requirements and the list of tests available for this qualification. Note that not all the user requirements may apply to your situation. Modify the user requirements based on your needs - how you plan to use the software within your company. Depending on the user requirements you pick, test files are available that can validate these requirements. Perform those qualification tests based on your user requirements. A sample screenshot of the software operational qualifications report is shown below.     Operational Qualification Report To perform the tests, click on the Validation Runs button. A new workbook is opened, and a worksheet for performing the validation runs is added to your workbook. A sample screenshot of the workbook is shown below.     Validation Run Worksheet
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Validation:     A blank worksheet called Validation is added to this workbook. The different columns that are in the validation worksheet are:
#Description
1Test Number
2Name of the file that contains the test runs and test results
3Name of the worksheet. Each file may contain multiple worksheets, and each worksheet contains a  unique test
4Name of the Sigma Magic tool/template that is being tested
5The link which you can click to be taken to that worksheet
6The time taken in seconds to run this test on your computer
7The result of the test - whether validated or not
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Analysis Setup:     Click on the Analysis Setup button to open the dialog box and pick the tests to run.
A sample screenshot of the dialog box is shown below.     Validation Dialog Box
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Select Test:     Select the tests you would like to run. Note that you can only run one set of tests in each workbook. Each test contains information about the test name, the number of tests the file contains, and the expected time to complete the tests.
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Run Tests:     Click on the Run Tests button to run the tests. The software will run the tests and update the Validation worksheet.
The following tests are available in this folder:    
TestDescription
Anal 01Factor Analysis, Cluster Analysis, Correspondence Analysis, Heat Maps
Anal 02Bayes Modeling, Decision Trees, Discriminant Analysis, Neural Networks, KNN, Regression Models, Support Vector Machines, Bagging, Boosting
Change 01Stakeholder Analysis, Force Field, RACI, Team Charter, Team Roles, Communication Plans
Change 02Change Audit, Change Curve, Culture Map, PEST, SWOT, Coaching, Team Roles, Mission & Vision, Change Impact, Sustaining Change
DOE 01Fractional and Full Factorial Design of Experiments
DOE 02General Factorial
DOE 03Response Surface Methods
DOE 04Plackett-Burman Designs
DOE 05Taguchi Design of Experiments
Graphs 01Bar Chart, Pie Chart, Box Plot, Dot Plot, Histogram, Time Series Plot
Graphs 02Individual Value Plots, Interval Plots, Run Chart, Contour Plot, Matrix Plot, Multi-Vari Chart, Scatter plot, Waterfall Chart, Probability Plot
Graphs 03Pareto Charts
Lean 01Hoshin, Lean Maturity, True North, 5S Audits, OEE, Spaghetti, Standard Work, Kanban, SMED, TAKT, Time Study, Workload Balanced, 5 WHys, Kaizen Report, Waste Analysis, A3 Reports, Leader Standard Work, One Point Lessons
Lean 02Value Stream Mapping
Projects 01Kano, VOC Table, Scorecard, Financials, Project Filter, Project Charter, CE Matrix, Check Sheet, Is vs Is Not, Benefit Effort, FMEA, Multi Voting, Pugh Matrix, Solution Selection, TRIZ, Control Plan, Design Scorecard, Implementation Plan, Minutes, Closure Form
Projects 02QFD, Process Map, Relationship Diagrams, SIPOC, Fishbone, Tree Diagram, Fault Tree Analysis, GANTT Charts
Stats 01Basic Statistical Analysis
Stats 02Normality Tests, Probability Calculations, Random Numbers, Transform Data (Box Cox, Johnson)
Stats 03Sample Size Calculations, Compare Samples (1-Sample t, 2-Sample t, 1-Proportion, ANOVA, 2-Proportion, Non-Parametric)
Stats 04Correlation & Regression Analysis (Simple, Multiple, Logistic)
Stats 05Capability Analysis (Normal and Non-Normal, Binomial, Poisson)
Stats 06Control Charts (I-MR, Xbar-R, P Chart, U Chart, C Chart, NP Chart)
Stats 07Distribution Identification
Stats 08Gage Linearity and Measurement Systems Analysis (Gage R&R)
Stats 09Reliability Analysis
Stats 10Time Series Analysis (Auto Correlation, Moving Averages, Trend Analysis, Seasonality)

A sample screenshot of the worksheet after completing the test run for Graphs 01 is shown below.     Validation Results
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Validation Accuracy: The overall validation accuracy and total time to run all the tests are shown at the top. If the validation accuracy is 100%, all the tests in that file have passed.
You can update this result in your operational qualifications report if you document these findings. If any of the tests fail Validation, you will need to investigate the root cause of this discrepancy and fix it before you can use the software. If you cannot resolve this problem locally, work with the help desk to get this issue resolved.     

Methodologies

You can use the methodologies button to design up to 5 custom methodologies relevant to your company. The figure below shows a sample screenshot of the methodologies manager. Note that you can define up to 5 different methodologies. The current methodologies are shown in the panel on the right. If they are blank, then no methodology has been described.    Methodology Manager
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Methodology:     Click on this Button to switch between the different methodologies. If this Button appears blank, then no methodology has been defined. Make sure to explain the methods from the top to the bottom. If a particular button has been selected, it will be shown in blue font; otherwise, it will be shown in black font. Note that you can define up to 5 different methodologies using this manager.
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Acronym:     Each methodology has an acronym, which you can define here. For example, the Six Sigma improvement methodology is called DMAIC; in Lean, we have a PDCA methodology (4 steps). Similarly, you can define and devise an acronym relevant to your project. Note that we can have a maximum of 5 steps in any methodology. If you have more than five steps in a method, you can group some steps into a single step to meet the 5 step limit.
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Step Description:     You can click on this label for each methodology step and edit it if required. The default names provided are Step 1, Step 2, etc. You can change these into Define, Measure, or those relevant to your acronym.
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Available Tools:     Drag and drop the tools from the available tools to the selected ones on the right. Use the search button to narrow the search for available tools. Note that each step in the methodology can have up to 10 tools listed. If you have more than ten tools per step, list the ten most important steps here. Double-click on a selection to remove it from the list. When you add a new tool, it appears at the bottom of the list, so if order is important, you need to add the tools in the same order you want them to be listed.
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Selected Tools:     You can use generic tools if multiple tools make sense for your project. For example, instead of listing 1-Sample t-Test, 2-Sample t-Test, ANOVA, etc., you can choose to Compare Samples, which houses all of these tools in the same user interface.
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Reset:     Clicking on this Button will clear everything for the selected methodology. It will clear the acronym at the top, the definitions of each phase, and the tools you have already selected. If you have clicked by mistake, click on Cancel to exit this dialog box without saving it, and go back and make edits after you return.
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Help:     Clicking on this Button will open the help file for the Options dialog box.
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Cancel Button:     Clicking on this Button will close the dialog box without making any changes.
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OK Button:     Clicking on this Button will save your changes to all the methodologies you have made. When you click the Tool Wizard, you will find these methodologies listed. An example screen for the DMAIC methodology is shown below.
Methodology Example

Shortcut Keys

A sample screenshot of the shortcut keys manager is shown in the figure below.    tool Manager
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User Action: Select the action for which you want to define the shortcut from the dropdown combo box. The available options are:
ActionDescription
No actionThe specified key will not be mapped to any action.
System defaultThe specified key will return to the shortcut mapped by Excel.
Open help... Open the help file for the specified topic. Note that depending on the optional settings, this help file could be opened either locally within your computer or open the file available on our web server.
Open analysis setupThis is equivalent to clicking on the Analysis Setup button on the main menu bar.
Compute analysis outputsThis is equivalent to clicking on the Compute Outputs button on the main menu bar.
Open data EditorThis is equivalent to clicking on the Data Editor button on the main menu bar.
Duplicate workbookThe specified key will copy the currently active workbook and make a copy of the analysis so that you can run a what-if analysis by making changes to the inputs.
View summary sheetThis will change the currently active worksheet to the Summary Sheet.
View data sheetThis will change the currently active worksheet to the Data Sheet so that you can view the data available for analysis.
2
Shortcut Keys: Specify the key to use to map the shortcut. The available options are the function keys (F1 through F10), the Alt Key, the Shift Key, the Ctrl Key, etc. For function keys, no additional character is required.
3
Shortcut Chars: If the shortcut key is not one of the function keys, you will have to specify the character for the shortcut. For example, if you specify the shortcut key as Ctrl and the character E, the shortcut is activated when you click Ctrl-E.
4
System Keys: Clicking on this Button will reset the specified shortcut keys to what was available in the Excel system before you started Sigma Magic software.
5
Reset Button: Click this Button to remove all the changes and set the shortcut keys as originally defined within Sigma Magic software.
6
Cancel Button: Cancel any changes you have made and exit this dialog box. The changes are not saved.
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OK Button: Save any changes you have made and apply the changes so that the shortcut keys are effective immediately on closing this dialog box. Any changes will also be reflected when you close and open Excel the next time.

Color Settings

 This setting can change the look and feel of the worksheets. An example screenshot of the Color settings is shown in the figure below.
   options 7
1
Color Theme: You can use these settings to change the layout of colors used on the tools using a custom layout. Different colors are used for the various sections of the worksheet and the dialog box. Using the theme colors will change the entire set of colors as a group. You can click on the Color Theme dropdown box to change the default colors for a group of settings simultaneously. The following default colors are currently available for the Theme setting.
OptionDescription
BlackSet a black and white color theme for various elements.
BlueSet a blue color theme for various elements.
GraySet a gray color theme for various elements.  This is the default setting.
OrangeSet an orange color theme for various elements.
GreenSet a green color theme for various elements.
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Select Colors: You can click and change individual colors for specific elements separately. If you click on the color box next to an element, you can change its color. You can specify each element's foreground color (FG) and background color (BG) separately. The following elements are defined in the first section.
OptionDescription
Main HeaderThis is for the title line, which contains the name of the worksheet and the Sigma Magic logo.
Sub Header This is for the row that contains the sub-header description, such as Notes and Graphs.
Notes Header This is for the Header or title of the notes area.
Notes BodyThis is for the main body of the notes area.
Chart AreaThis is the color to be used for the graphs.
TabsThis is the color to be used for the worksheet tabs.
Form Header These are used for any form headers that may exist on certain tools (such as Control Plan).
Form Body These are used for any forms that may exist on certain tools (such as Control Plan).
Cell Highlight These are used to highlight important cells on worksheets so that they stand out compared to other cells.
3
Standard Colors: You can specify the colors for the various standards.  For example, what colors should be used for averages, limits, targets, data, outliers, fitted lines, and the pass, warning, and fail indicators?
4
Group Colors: You can specify the background (BG) and foreground (FG) colors that should be used for any groups on the charts. The groups are used when multiple elements are plotted. For example, if a chart uses two lines, the first line belongs to group 1, and the second line belongs to group 2.
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Reset Button: You can click on this Button to reset all the settings on this page to their default values. Note that there is no undo button, and once the settings have been reset, there is no way to go back to the older settings.

Font Settings

 This setting can change the fonts used on the tools' notes and graphs sections. An example screenshot of the font settings is shown in the figure below.
   options 7
1
Font Element: You can use these settings to change the fonts for the following elements. By font, we can specify the font name, the font size, and the font style to use for that element.
OptionDescription
Main HeaderThis is for the title line, which contains the name of the worksheet and the Sigma Magic logo.
Sub Header This is for the row that contains the sub-header description, such as Notes and Graphs.
Notes Header This is for the Header or title of the notes area.
Notes BodyThis is for the main body of the notes area.
Chart AreaThis is the color to be used for the graphs.
TabsThis is the color to be used for the worksheet tabs.
Form Header These are used for any form headers that may exist on certain tools (such as Control Plan).
Form Body These are used for any forms that may exist on certain tools (such as Control Plan).
Cell Highlight These are used to highlight important cells on worksheets so that they stand out compared to other cells.
2
Font Name: Specify the name of the font you want to use for this element. The following font names are currently available to be changed via this menu.
OptionDescription
ArialThis is an example of the representative text using this font.
CalibriThis is an example of the representative text using this font.
ConsolasThis is an example of the representative text using this font.
Courier NewThis is an example of the representative text using this font.
GeorgiaThis is an example of the representative text using this font.
MS GothicThis is an example of the representative text using this font.
Segoe UIThis is an example of the representative text using this font.
TahomaThis is an example of the representative text using this font.
Times New RomanThis is an example of the representative text using this font.
VerdanaThis is an example of the representative text using this font.
3
Font Size: Specify the font size of each element.
OptionDescription
8Example Font
9Example Font
10Example Font
11Example Font
12Example Font
14Example Font
16Example Font
18Example Font
20Example Font
22Example Font
24Example Font
26Example Font
28Example Font
36Example Font
48Example Font
72Example Font
4
Font Style: Specify the style of the font to use for this element.
OptionDescription
RegularThis is an example of the representative text using this font.
BoldThis is an example of the representative text using this font.
ItalicThis is an example of the representative text using this font.
Bold ItalicThis is an example of the representative text using this font.
5
Reset Button: You can click on this Button to reset all the settings on this page to their default values. Note that there is no undo button, and once the settings have been reset, there is no way to go back to the older settings.

FAQ

This section contains some frequently asked questions. If you have other questions about this module, please get in touch with technical support.
    Will the options values persist for different users?    
    Option values will be stored centrally for a given user. So, if two people use the same computer (same login account), they will use the same set of Options. If one user changes the values in the Options, it will also affect the other user. Of course, if they have different accounts, then the Options values are preserved.           
                
  Will the options values override the values within the dialog box?  
    No, the option value is the default value used in the dialog box. If you specify a different value in the specific dialog box on a worksheet, that value will be used for the analysis. The dialog box value will not overwrite the option value applicable for all worksheets.