Software Created to Help Your Organization Continue Moving Forward

On a ship, the engine room is where you'll find the most important machinery - all the pieces and parts that power the ship and allow it to move from point A to point B.

That visual is the inspiration behind MoreSteam's innovative EngineRoom® software, the world's first web–based application to provide all the problem–solving tools you need for process improvement. It has tools to help you analyze data, organize and manage projects, and map and model processes - all within a single application.

In other words, it's an online platform housing all the tools you'll need to keep your organization moving forward. It's such an efficient and effective program that it's currently in use at many of the most successful companies in the world, including Google, Uber, Nationwide, Ernst & Young, and Southwest Airlines.

The platform is easy to learn and even easier to use, but it's not quite as easy to explain. Because it's so multi–dimensional, there's no simple way to quickly summarize everything EngineRoom can do within a 10–second elevator pitch. So we asked EngineRoom Product Manager Karina Dubé to shed some light on what exactly the software is capable of, and why more people should use it.

"EngineRoom is an online problem–solving toolbox, providing all of the Lean Six Sigma tools in one place," she said. "This platform contains over 80 different tools in four different types: Documentation, Mapping, Statistical Analysis, and Modeling."

We asked Karina to elaborate on each of those four areas, highlighting why they're important and how EngineRoom helps:

• Documentation tools help you plan your project by documenting answers to questions like, "What is the scope of the project?", "Who is working on the project?", "What is the financial impact of the project?", "What data do we need to collect?", etc. These are great for sharing with leadership as well as the team to make sure everyone is on the same page.
• Mapping tools allow you to brainstorm and organize information in a freeform way. These tools include Affinity Diagrams, CTQC Trees, Value Stream Maps and Process Flowcharts.
• Statistical Analysis tools provide the easiest way to get insights from your data. Our unique drag-and-drop interface for selecting your data means that setting up a statistical analysis is fast and simple. Additionally, many of our statistical tools provide a clear, "plain English" interpretation of the statistics so you can make decisions faster.
• Modeling tools include Monte Carlo Simulation and Process Playground, our Discrete Event Simulation tool. These tools enable you to make predictions and, in the case of Process Playground, experiment and design your process virtually before bringing changes to the real world.

Additionally, for anyone who is working through DMAIC projects, EngineRoom offers a Critical Thought Map to help you document your thought process as you use the tools to justify changes for your organization.

We asked Karina to share more details about why EngineRoom might be the right solution for you and your organization, and how you can start using it.

What's the best way for people to use EngineRoom?

There are so many different ways it can be used. The first would be for training, for both educators and students. With all of the tools in one place, you can learn about the tools themselves and how each of them answers questions that enable you to improve your processes and get buy-in from leadership.

The second way to use it is for projects. When you are actually trying to create change in your organization, EngineRoom provides tools that are easy to learn and easy to use, helping you complete your project more quickly. EngineRoom enables quick but thorough decision–making and different ways to justify your decisions to peers and supervisors.

On a more specific level, we have an option to use a DMAIC structured menu, allowing you to move through each phase of your project with suggested tools at each step. By following the menu and asking good questions, you will have a clear roadmap for achieving your process goals.

Who should use EngineRoom?

It's great for anyone who wants to improve a process, including those who are learning and teaching. That goes for people who work in manufacturing, government, healthcare, and pretty much every industry you can think of.

What's the most common feedback you get from people who use EngineRoom?

People love EngineRoom for three main reasons — it's fast, easy, and everything's in one easy–to–find place. We help people get answers quickly.

Our software is easy to pick up and understand without having to go through layers of menus. And having everything in one place means you're not changing programs in order to get through your project, saving cognitive load for solving problems, not learning software.

What are some newer features of EngineRoom that might be under–utilized?

We've had a great year, updating our Mapping tools with a new full-screen interface. Many small updates were included there that we improved on from our previous mapping tools. This includes multi-selecting your shapes and editing them at once, expanding the workspace by dragging and dropping, and aligning your shapes with the right click menu.

In addition to our Mapping Tools, Process Playground was added to provide a simpler interface for creating simulations of processes.

Other nice-to-know features include minimizing your studies by double–clicking on the blue tool hexagon in EngineRoom, the ability to share your project to other users within your company, and notes and files that can be added to individual studies.

How often are updates or enhancements made?

Updates and enhancements happen constantly. One of the benefits of a cloud–based tool is that you will always have the latest updates. Our bigger projects take a little longer to get to the public, but small enhancements are released every two weeks on average.

What's the best way to get started with EngineRoom?

Download a free 7–day trial from our website! If you get stuck, we've got a series of "Help" articles to get you through the basics.