Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetHello @Terri_Denver. Make yourself a simple data table. I created two columns and asked JMP to generate random integer values in each. Then simply use the instant column formulas to take a sum.
What you can see here is that yes! JMP can sum across the rows of a data table. Specifically, my instant column formula was generated using the "add" function in JMP. Easy peasy.
I can even use the "event recorder" new in JMP16 to save my script and share it here with you so you can reproduce it easily:
// New data table
// → Data Table( "Untitled 206" )
New Table( "Untitled 206" );
// New column: Column 1
Data Table( "Untitled 206" ) << New Column( "Column 1",
Numeric,
"Continuous",
Format( "Best", 12 ),
Formula( Random Integer( Empty() ) )
);
// New column: Column 2
Data Table( "Untitled 206" ) << New Column( "Column 2",
Numeric,
"Continuous",
Format( "Best", 12 ),
Formula( Random Integer( Empty() ) )
);
// Change column formula: Column 1
Data Table( "Untitled 206" ):Column 1 << Set Formula( Random Integer( 100 ) );
// Change column formula: Column 2
Data Table( "Untitled 206" ):Column 2 << Set Formula( Random Integer( 100 ) );
// Add rows
Data Table( "Untitled 206" ) << Add Rows( 100, At End );
// New formula column: Column 1+Column 2
Data Table( "Untitled 206" ) << New Column( "Column 1+Column 2",
Numeric,
"Continuous",
Format( "Best", 12 ),
Formula( :Column 1 + :Column 2 )
);
@PatrickGiuliano
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetThanks to everyone who contributed to my question! I was puzzled by something a colleague stated - "you can just sum rows in JMP like in excel". I was not convinced, and searched around for info and noted that there were formulae provided by some users. I have never used excel - dislike it rather intensely - so am happy to be back with JMP for the analyses options and - to me - ease of use and it is intuitive! I did all the data analysis for my PhD dissertation using JMP! Not being able to sum rows is not much or a problem just wanted to check out my colleague's statement.
Thanks again to all!!
Terri_Denver
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetEven with an example! Thank you so much!Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetHere are 3 different formulas that will calculate your needed answer. The first one finds the d0 row for the given specimen based upon Time[d] = 0, while the second finds minimum of Absolute data [a.u.] for the given specimen.
Also, the formula rounds to an integer in each formula. If you want more precision the Round() function can be removed and the column format adjusted to not allow decimal places. The third calculated column used the JMP percent standard of the value of 1 being displayed as 100% by using the Percent format and specifying no decimal points.
I have attached my example data table.
Relative [% of d=0]
curSpecimen = :Specimen;
theRows = Current Data Table() << get rows where( :Specimen == curSpecimen & :Name( "Time [d]" ) == 0 );
d0Row = theRows[1];
d0Time = :Name( "Absolute data [a.u.]" )[d0Row];
Round( (:Name( "Absolute data [a.u.]" ) / d0Time) * 100 );
Relative [% of d=0] with assumption
Round( (:Name( "Absolute data [a.u.]" ) / Col Min( :Name( "Absolute data [a.u.]" ), :Specimen )) * 100 )
Relative [% of d=0] using JMP formating
curSpecimen = :Specimen;
theRows = Current Data Table() << get rows where( :Specimen == curSpecimen & :Name( "Time [d]" ) == 0 );
d0Row = theRows[1];
d0Time = :Name( "Absolute data [a.u.]" )[d0Row];
:Name( "Absolute data [a.u.]" ) / d0Time;
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetHi, that's an interesting point. Before I open a new thread, may I bother you with a question? I am trying to achieve the calculations indicated by the blue arrow in the picture attached. This is stacked data for 3 arbitrary specimens with different results over a varying number of days. For each of the different specimens I want to convert the absolute results to relative results where d=0=100% for each specimen. I think my problem is that I don't know the terminology well enough for what I want to do. Would you be able to help?
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetHi @Sagi_Nahum I agree with you -- spreadsheets are still ubiquitous in the medical device industry too I can tell you that much.
Consider this perspective however. Spreadsheets would require software validation or 100% verification since data can be entered and formulas calculated in any cell configuration. All of this layout and formula creation makes for an end-product that is highly customize-able and therefore subject to calculation error. Hence we need robust verification or validation activities to ensure data integrity.
Consider the same implementation in JMP. I can construct calculations using 'Instant Column Formulas' and generate these formulas with a few right-clicks using my mouse and the menu-driven capabilities in JMP. I can create summary tables of complex calculations using Right-Click > "make combined data table" or Right-Click > Edit > "Make a table of graphs like this". I can save my analysis scripts as JSL code embedded in my data table(s). By doing this, I take advantage of menu-driven capabilities in JMP and I also generate source code which, if clicked on, ensures that my analysis is fully reproducible. So from this aspect, JMP can offer a unique advantage over spreadsheet-based software in that the "verification" pathway can be much easier in many cases, because it is less subject to human calculation-error. Also, the more rigid-structure of column-based formulas in JMP makes it such that the user must enter one formula for one column and cannot manipulate cells within a column independently.
Finally, I think JMP is still a spreadsheet in many ways. Why not use it this way if it resonates with your brain better? I'll attach an example for you with some column formulas. You can ignore replicated values down the rows of a Column. In essence, your calculation can be in the service of "row 1" (just "fill the cells below with a dark color to encourage the viewer to ignore them). The redundant row-wise calculations are computationally very cheap anyway if you have a table of only a few hundred to a few (hundred) thousand rows.
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetI agree that JMP is not a spreadsheet, however, in many companies, including the Pharma industry, spreadsheets are still playing as the main character in data collection and data analysis. The industry learned how to validate these spreadsheets so it will not need 'expensive' software for data collection,l trending, and analysis. Statistical analysis must come with built-in validated fixed options as part of the analysis package, compliant with relevant Data integrity regulations to compete with standard spreadsheets.
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetSo true most of the output I generate ends up being put into Excel due to managers not necessarily having JMP. Most people will start with Excel then transition over to other software programsRe: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetI think it is useful to articulate differences between the two, but not so useful to face them off against each other. Use both and maximise the collective benefits...Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetA lot of good points already mentioned. Excel for majority of the time requires you to do manage data very manually with JMP you get to see your how it’s done behind the scenes with the script in the background which is much easier to recreate for the same set of repeated monthly data than say in excel in which you paste in individual formulas. Also if you want to use formulas a simple right click of the column and new formula column gives various options to do formulas instantly no drag down of formulas or creating a table in excel. Pivoting in Excel you select sheets or areas but in JMP you have flexibility of summarising or tabulated data. In short JMP offers better solutions with less clicks.Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetI think you may have identified a possible opportunity for JMP! I agree that JMP is designed for the data tables to be used for analysis through other platforms but how often do we pull data from a JMP table or make combined data table and the. Paste into Excel for final formatting? Or on the other side of the analysis I often use Excel to get the data into an acceptable format before bringing into JMP. It would be really cool if JMP could go back and forth between a data table and a spreadsheet that has connections to the data tables and reports and allows you to create document friendly formats all within one program.
JMP is definitely nit just a spreadsheet but maybe it could be a spreadsheet too 
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetI have visions of Doc Brown in "Back to the Future".
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetIn the column box, a single click on the "+" icon brings up the formula editor.
Once the developers get the neural natural language processor bluetooth head band working again, it will just open when you think about it. They had it working a while back but it was too early. I installed Windows NT and version 4.7 to try it out. It was pretty amazing but the batteries were kind of heavy and I kept falling over backwards.
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetThat's true! Also the syntax for conditional logic statements in JMP column formulas is WAY more intuitive than in Excel. I can write conditional statements with very complex logic using JMPs graphical display dialogue (with JSL embedded underneath) and in this way confidently create new column formulas to help me manipulate and gain greater insights from my data.
Re: JMP is Not a Spreadsheet@Paul_J, this is a key observation. The table manipulation and automation makes tasks that are ridiculously complex or difficult in Excel very fast, easy and reproducible. It opens the door to getting to the analysis you wanted to do, but were too exhausted to even start before.
Another @Patrick GIULIANO mentioned indirectly is that in Excel one needs to become an expert in creating a number of difficult and complex data structures, for each graph and summary table type, where in JMP there are really only one or two data structures that are nearly universal for every graph and analysis report. (one observation per row, one variable per column)Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetMaybe JMP is a spreadsheet? Or at least it can be! What I've been doing of late is just using the cell shading (dark blue) to "hide" duplicated calculations that I am performing which automatically duplicate in all the rows of a given column. Works pretty well! Only thing I wish was that it was even easier to access column formulas than it is currently. Maybe instead of a couple clicks it could be accessed and you could be taken there directly with a single right click or some other shortcut. The handy thing about Excel is the ability to readily enter column formulas. JMP you can do the same once you get in there to the formula editor and you can even use the JSL, but it takes some time to even access the formula editor, especially if you're doing this for multiple columns in one data table.
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetGood stuff Mark. I think this is a challenging thing for some of the larger companies when they get their hands on JMP. The challenge may be one of communication. Folks come to them and say "hey, JMP is a great way to analytics better than what you are doing in Excel", which is very true, mostly, with the important caveats that JMP is not a spreadsheet and there are certain things that are much better to do in a spreadsheet.
But what the company may hear is "I can do everything I did in Excel better in JMP". I believe that this can result in some serious deployment heartburn as folks are tasked with transitioning things out of Excel into JMP when Excel still sits as the more fit-for-purpose tool.
One example from my own experience is discreet event simulation. Now if I'm doing any kind of heavy duty work there is more appropriate software for it, but for low-end back of the envelope queuing models I go straight to a spreadsheet program.
Monte-carlos in general I find to be somewhat evenly split. There are a lot of places where it's small enough I don't need to go to Python, but it's complex enough that its much easier to do it in a spreadsheet software than in JMP.
Linear programming as well. If it's a lightweight model I'm gonna run that in spreadsheet software. I'm not even certain JMP has that capability.
The best way to summarize the difference in my opinion is this: JMP is one of the best tools out there for doing a specific set of tasks, but it is not intended for everything. Excel is is a tool that can do entry level work on almost any task. Or, maybe: JMP can do a few things excellently. Excel can do everything poorly.
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetThanks @Paul_J, you are right in that I could pull the CI from the 2 sample t-test assuming unequal variances within the Fit Y by X Platform and Compare it to zero to assess the statistical significance (or lack thereof).
What I'm actually talking about is the Equivalence test using TOST (two one-sided t-test approach) where you have to specify a practical difference threshold that defines the maximum difference on average, allowable between groups to be considered not practically important (and by default, that difference is symmetric about zero). For that particular method, there is no option for "unequal variances": the default is equal variance assumed.Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetIndeed, I've had quite a bit of success with the Graph Builder, ... as well as Control Chart Builder and Local Data Filter. Many Excel users love the "pivot table feel" with power of graphics.
Another sucess I've had at showning value is replacing hours of manal copy-paste and cell formulating in Excel with seconds via a JMP script.
The Help and Books are great also!
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetIf your talking about test for equivalence of means allowing unqual variances, I believe the can be done, but "indirectly". Equivalence test of means (as, say 95% level) is given by (90%) confidence interval for difference in means. Believe the t-test in the Fit Y by X platform gives that confidence interval allowing unequal variances,
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetMaybe one more way to help facilitate JMP adoption is to install the JMP add-in in MS Excel. It talks to JMP and has analysis icons from JMP within Excel, so that helps for people who really can't relinquish Excel. Excel is a wonderful tool as well and can complement and even supplement certain analyses in JMP where certain calculation options, for example, are not available. One simple example would be a test for equivalence under the assumption of unequal variance (which to my knowledge is not available in JMP). You can build an Excel spreadsheet for this spreadsheet in the special case of for example: if you were to find evidence to reject the assumption of unequal variance using the hypothesis tests for equal variance output.Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetYou have to demonstrate the value-add from a business perspective. The value is in time-saved in doing the analytics, not only doing the analytics faster, but far more powerfully (and easily). Start with graph builder. This platform alone is so incredibly powerful and really becomes easy to use after some patience and fortitude - it's drag and drop. JMP.com/learn is a great place to start. Short 5 minute videos are clear and precise to get the user base going. Seeing is beleiving. Visual analytics are the beginning and the end of every good data analysis.
Excel doesn't have this functionality. You can become a "pivot-table" expert with a few short tutorials in JMP in less than 10 minutes. You can become a "graphing" expert with just a few short tutorials in JMP in less than 10 minutes. With Excel it's much harder to get there, especially for the average user. And often the average user has the most direct insight into problems (from the hands-on perspective).
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetTo me, before we address technical differences (such as cells vs. variables), we have to keep in mind that there are "billions-and-billions" of spreadsheets out there created by "millions-and-millions" of long time users.
That is, Excel is an engrained Culture*, while JMP is ... ?
Any thoughts or experiences on how we address the Excel culture when promoting JMP?
* that comes automatically with Office software suites.
Re: JMP is Not a Spreadsheethttps://www.jmp.com/support/help/en/15.0/?os=mac&source=application#page/jmp/how-is-jmp-different-from-excel.shtml
Updated in 15 to help you get going in JMP if you are more familiar with a spreadsheet than an analysis tool.Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetGreat input! Many of us that have been using JMP for years will quickly dismiss anyone proclaiming that they use Excel and it works fine. This would be the moment to help this temporarily captive audience understand the value of using JMP vs Excel (or any other tool that they use as a hammer). I'd love to see JMP publish a series of articles highlighting why one would consider moving their work from Excel to JMP. To JMP users, this is an obvious transition when JMP is required or provides other advantages (efficiency, reproducibility, etc.), to non-JMP users, they don't know what they don't know.
If you're looking for a good example of this, take a look at business-science.io. They do a great job of documenting a case study of how moving their work from Excel to R gave them a 10-100X productivity boost: https://www.business-science.io/business/2019/02/20/excel-to-r-part-1.html
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetA recent JMP Discussions reply from @markbailey regarding the KS test interpretation illustrates another differentiating global feature in JMP compared to your garden variety spreadsheet application. Interactive/online Help. If one is curious about a specific analysis platform report element and want to learn more, you don't have to hunt/peck/guess by keyword or table of contents search to learn more. All you need to do is go to the JMP main menu bar, select Tools -> Help, then hover your cursor over the element you want to learn more about and click on the element. You'll go directly to the most relevant content in the JMP documentation. Easy peasy.
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetI also stumbled on to this thread and thank the previous responders for some great ideas. I offer my humble experiences. I do two things in my professional life:
1. I teach experimental design and sampling as means to gather data (and regression when there is no data collection plan) and a host of procedures to analyze the data. I follow my own guidance in the analysis of data: Practical, Graphical and lastly quantitative.
2. I analyze data sets form clients (these can take many forms).
I make a point that ~95% of my data analysis time is spent organizing the data into a structure/order so the data can be analyzed correctly. All questions that can be answered, conclusions that can be made, confidence in extrapolating the results, etc. are DEPENDENT on how the data was acquired (context).
All of my clients use Excel. I gave up on some emphatic DON"T USE THAT POS (piece of software). Software is a language. Many individuals speak Excel fluently and they are comfortable with it. JMP is a different language. Learning a new language can be terrifying and frustrating. Excel has its good points and its issues. Its good points include how extremely flexible it is, that is, of course, one of its bad points. I state ALL statistical analysis software requires discipline in its use (yes this includes dare I say Minitab...yikes). Over the course of working with my clients, it becomes clear the incredible capability of JMP. I demonstrate how organizing the data wrong leads to erroneous analysis. They naturally become convinced it is in their best interest to recognize how JMP performs analysis. I have not found one "event" to be the convincing argument, but repetition. Once they see this (admittedly it takes many reps), they now can use Excel with the knowledge of how it will need to be organized in JMP to perform the correct analysis.
Cheers,
Bill
JMP is Not a SpreadsheetIt seems to me that a lot of requests appear in these discussions because users attempt to solve a problem or use JMP like a spreadsheet. The rows and columns in a JMP data table resemble a spreadsheet but this appearance is misleading. My intention here is to discuss ways of using JMP, interactively or scripted, that will be rewarding instead of frustrating. I hope that others will join this discussion. Maybe we can reduce the level of frustration in the future that arises from attempts to use JMP in a way that it was not intended.
First of all, a spreadsheet is oriented around a cell. A cell is a location in which to store a value or a formula. It accepts formats. It can be organized with other cells in rows and columns. It is easy to work with rows, columns, or a selection of cells, but they are still individual cells. I can put anything anywhere at any time. That behavior is convenient when working in software that is optimized for consolidating and reporting financial data. JMP, on the other hand, is software for discovery about and between variables using myriad statistical analyses and visualizations. It is oriented around the variable. A data column is a cohesive collection of values for each variable. These related values share the same meaning and, therefore, the same format and other meta-data. A row is also a cohesive collection of values that represent an observation and share row states.
Second, the data table is primarily for storing and organizing data (variables and observations) along with their meta-data. It is not responsible for any kind of analysis. The numerical and graphical analyses happen in the many specialized platforms available through the Analyze and Graph menus. The platforms work with the data table and data filters (change row states). Multiple platforms may be simultaneously opened on the same data set. Multiple platforms maybe combined into a single window when this enhances the analysis.
How else is JMP not a spreadsheet? I will be back with more ideas but it is now your turn.
No software can claim to be all things to all users. I would not expect a word processor to be good at functional data analysis nor would I expect it to be easy to teach it to do so. Many different kinds of software easily and successfully work and play together today so that we may use each of them to their best advantage.
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetI fully agree. I suspect that most new JMP users have basisc or bettter than basic Excel knowledge.
Therefore, in my experience, it would be important to point out the fundamental differences between JMP and Excel as soon as possible.
This would make it possible to get positive results more quickly with JMP.
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetGreat thread @markbailey . Whenever I introduced JMP to new users I had a simple admonition that I hammered home to those in attendance. It went something like this:
There are three rules for learning JMP:
1. JMP is not Excel.
2. JMP Is Not Excel.
3. JMP IS NOT EXCEL.
Then invariably later on in the session somebody would ask the question, "How do I do 'x' like I can in Excel?" If it wasn't doable or wise in JMP, I'd refer to the three rules to remind everyone that JMP is not Excel.
On a more serious note, I thing a key difference between JMP and spreadsheet applications is the point and click, dynamic interactivity that permeates JMP and is virtually nonexistent in spreadsheet applications. JMP is designed for what I call 'nonlinear discovery'...where the user has the opportunity to move in a sequential fashion through their data and analysis posing certain questions, learning by doing, all in the context of an analysis flow. Compare and contrast this to the what I'll call the 'once and done' of a spread sheet app. Want a bar chart? Make one. Want a pie chart? Make one. etc. But that's as far as you can go. Then it's back to square one to start over. Not so in JMP.
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetImaging the following. As an experienced user of JMP, you have to switch back to Excel. The main question would be, how can I do this in Excel, what I have done before in JMP.
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetThe first thing I teach people when they're first learning JMP is using by columns with stacked data. I find this to be a good seed to show people the difference between excel and JMP.
@markbailey I think it would be great to keep this post (or a summarized post of other people's suggestions) as a sticky on this forum. This is something I find hard to get through to people who haven't really used JMP before.
Re: JMP is Not a Spreadsheet
@vince_faller wrote:
I think it would be great to keep this post (or a summarized post of other people's suggestions) as a sticky on this forum. This is something I find hard to get through to people who haven't really used JMP before.
Done. We'll keep it up there for awhile.
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetExcel users think in terms of having to build everything they need. Because of this, they tend to use Formula Columns to generate their stats and Graph Builder to display the results. Learning that JMP Platforms can make their lives easier is a very eye opening thing for the Excel user.
Speaking of Formula Columns, another eye opening event, is the fact that JMP Formula's don't have to fit on just one line. And they can be long and complex if needed. Several times, new Excel to JMP users have remarked that they never new that more than one statement can be used in a JMP formula.
Another "Wow that's Powerful" item, is the exposure to Excel users on how you do a Vlookup in JMP using Join/Update. The simplicty of the Join/Update platforms compared to Vlookup makes JMP a real winner.
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetWhen I'm talking to people about the difference of spreadsheets and JMP (or JMP tables) I refer to the following - besides what has been said already:
One of the big advantages in JMP is that you do not have to necessarily know upfront what you will find/have at the end. You can explore your data fast and interactive and find new clues, related variables or patterns you might never have thought of. However this also requires to be open for a different mindset! You are allowed to think yourself, using standards as guidelines instead of fixed rules (as Gerrman I know what I'm talking about 
).
Of course there is some change in how to approach an analysis, but when you managed this change the adoption of new platforms is very easy. And the best - JMP offers a huge amount of training for free via STIPS E-Learning, on-demand webcasts, tutorials in the learning library, live-webcasts, the community with all the contributors (a big thumbs up to all of you!) blogs, discussions, and discovery summit presentations, youtube channel, ... Not to forget the technical staff which is in contact with the JMP users spread all over the world.
Re: JMP is Not a Spreadsheet@markbailey
I am not sure if this is what you are seeking, but here are a few comments.
When I teach an introductory JMP class some of the key ponts I make include:
- The JMP data table is similar to a database table:
- Each column is a field. A column called Employee ID # only contains ID numbers. You should not have a column of weights that also includes the mean and min and max and std dev of weights in the same column.
- Each column has a data type. This enables JMP to do calculations on the rows(observations) extremely fast because it checks the data type once for the column, unlike Excel that must check the data type for each cell before a calculation.
- A formula is applied to the entire column. There are methods to make it selective (more advanced).
- Excel is great for displaying data and not very efficient for analyses on large data tables. JMP does not have the fancy cell formatting and simple pull down filter. (see last bullet)
- Then a short demo showing how graphs and tables are linked (that is brushing), excluding, auto recalc, redo and saving a script quickly highlights the benefits.
- Filtering by columns is quite different in JMP. Another demo showing filtering (Row Filters, summary tables and source tables are linked), then subsets and "by" analyses. By analyses and Summary using complex By usually gets "oohs and ahs" as does split and stack.
Then another key point is to introduce stacked tables great for By analyses (Anova) vs. unstacked used for modeling and correlation. This fits the rubric of organizing or data prep for analyses.
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetNo, the JMP table is much more than a spreadsheet. However, there are much more Excel users than there are JMP users. So I very often have to convert my JMP data tables, or even JMP DOE tables, into Excel so that they can be used by my many non-JMP user colleagues. Unfortunate but true.
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetUse jmp.com/learn.
Follow some of the expert JMP users who work at SAS, they give wonderful introductory webinars which help the user understand and interact with their data -- @Chuck Boiler once told me that the learning curve for JMP is short and steep. I'm not so sure but I do know that "curiosity is the engine of the mind," as Ken Robinson put it. Gradually use the tools and see how they can really enhance your work!
First lesson I wish someone would have told me, I learned from 's webinars, which is: Click that little square divided into two triangles in the upper left hand corner of your data table! I can't tell you how that has changed my experience with ease of "manual manipulation" of my JMP data tables in a pseudo-MS Excel-like way! Those little triangular areas are your friend, they will de-select everything for you with just a few clicks when you get confused by JMPs "non Excel like" row/column selection pattern (which ends up being wildy useful later on).
Second one is Right Click > "Select Matching Cells". Those of us who use this on a daily basis understand the power of it!
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetI use JMP as a database that can be computed directly.
Its sql-like statements are too powerful.
JSL is very powerful and very flexible.I have always insisted on using JSL to operate JMP.
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetThanks for the post Mark. When I teach an Intro to JMP class I refer students to the Discovering JMP book that comes with JMP Help>Books>Discovering JMP and I point them to page 63, How is JMP Different from Excel? That seems to be very helpful to students.
Re: JMP is Not a SpreadsheetI do not know if I can add much more to what has already been stated here, but here goes.
At my insistence, my employer purchased JMP so that I could perform the type(s) of analysis required for and by our most demanding client. While most government contracts are gray, this particular client wanted to go deeper than “what would happen if we implemented this?”¹ Or, as he put it, he wanted his study “to have a methodology and results that were defensible.” That meant following a statistical process: design of experiments, a data collection plan based on the DoE, modeling and analysis of the data, and inferencing the results from statistical analysis.
Prior to our acquisition of JMP, everything was performed in Excel. Depending on who was processing the data the workbooks that were created ran anywhere from mediocre to why. Despite the large user base, Excel is still at its core a powerful accounting ledger, so what our management incorrectly deemed to be statistical analysis was nothing more than summary analysis.² Proving this particular client’s need was not going to happen in Excel.
When we acquired a JMP license, my first thought was that a data table looks very similar to a spreadsheet, but I quickly found and realized that where Excel and other spreadsheet software typically have the cell as the base object; that is, each of the 6,871,947,674 cells is independent having no relation to any other cell unless otherwise defined by the user. As I had prior experience in SAS, it became rapidly apparent that a data table is a data model in waiting. As others have noted, columns serve as either independent variables (predictors) or dependent variables (responses), while the rows in a JMP data table are observations.
JMP’s paradigm prevents users from engaging in some of the more atrocious way in which people use Excel; such as putting multiple “tables” on a single worksheet instead of being treated as independent objects that should occupy their own worksheet. Excel while seemingly having a broad range of graphs, pales in comparison to the Graph Builder platform.
The various platforms offered in JMP have no equivalent in Excel outside of perhaps third-party add-ins. For people inexperienced with statistics, the Analysis ToolPak add-in that included, but not pre-installed in Excel reinforces the misconception that there is not much to performing statistics. Want to design an experiment? Can you employ various techniques to determine if a data set is from a normally distributed population? Need to perform analysis on non-parametric data? Do you want to perform pairwise analysis to determine the factors in your model that are significantly different? If you are using Excel, forget about addressing such needs.
Recently, a co-worker an I showed the president of the company how he could quickly explore data in JMP. The Distribution platform alone sold him, as he saw that with little effort he could rapidly see how data was distributed with histograms and box plots, as well as get quantiles and summary statistics. The capabilities of Graph Builder blew his mind. Our president later asked me if JMP can perform SQL queries, t which I answered, “Yes.” I provided him with the built-in PDF books included with JMP where he how to perform such queries.
Simply put, true data discovery and statistical analtysis software, such as JMP, are far better suited to analytics than the kludges that are applied in Excel. Excel is not designed to perform much beyond reporting summary statistics and basic graphs.
¹ It is often the case that government contracts are posed by non-technical persons at the management level. More often than not, the contractor needs to guide their client to a solid, and achievable, objective given the biding price and contract period of performance.
² One of the major issues data analysts and data scientists face is getting their supervisors and clients to realize that the generation of descriptive (summary) statistics is not the application of statistics, or more properly, statical science and data analytics that leads to statistical inference.
