Quality Companion 2.3 and Free Viewer Available Now from Minitab

State College, Pa. - Minitab Inc. has released Quality Companion 2.3 by Minitab™, a Vista-compatible update to the company's process improvement software, as well as a free viewer that lets anyone review the information in a Quality Companion project file.

Quality Companion is used in companies around the world, including Xerox, ITT Industries, Providence Health System, and LexisNexis. Designed specifically to help professionals implement Six Sigma, the software provides guidance and tools that simplify every step of a project, from determining its scope to reporting on its success.

This update makes Quality Companion 2 fully compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista, introduces new capabilities and improves performance. The update is free to registered Quality Companion 2 users.

Minitab is also offering the Quality Companion Viewer as a free download. The Viewer allows anyone to view the contents of a Quality Companion project, so professionals can easily share project information with colleagues and executives who don't have the full application.

Quality Companion 2.3 is the product's second significant update this year, notes J.-P. Mulley, Minitab's product planning manager.

"We're committed to identifying the challenges quality professionals face and evolving Quality Companion as fast as we can to meet them," he says. "We're adding functionality and features even in maintenance releases, so customers will see many new and improved features throughout this update."

Enhancements and new features in Quality Companion 2.3 include:
- Microsoft Windows Vista compatibility.
- Improved form performance: complex forms can open up to 85 percent faster.
- A Pan Window feature for easy navigation of large process maps, presentations, and brainstorming tools.
- The ability to save all project tools as Web pages.
- A Schedule Evaluation Worksheet form.
- The ability to open, check in, and check out Quality Companion files in Microsoft Sharepoint.

A complete list of what's new in Quality Companion 2.3 is available at: http://www.minitab.com/products/qualitycompanion/whatsnew.aspx

The free Quality Companion Viewer and the new features in Quality Companion 2.3 reflect Minitab's dedication to meeting the needs of the quality improvement market. "Our goal is to give professionals more - and more complete - solutions for Six Sigma and quality improvement," Mulley says.

Quality Companion 2.3 supports every employee involved in a company's Six Sigma program. Green Belts can use the Project Roadmap™ to plan their entire project. Black Belts can count on the Coach feature to give their team expert guidance on which tools to select and how to use them at every step. And Champions and other executives can rely on Quality Companion to help them standardize and evaluate projects and report on their successes.

"Quality Companion makes the Six Sigma process itself more efficient," Mulley says. "Using the right tools makes it easier for professionals to complete their projects quickly and correctly, which ultimately results in more projects, greater savings, and higher profits."

Quality Companion 2.3 complements Minitab's flagship product, Minitab® Statistical Software, which quality professionals worldwide use to perform the sophisticated statistical analyses at the heart of all their Six Sigma projects.

More information on Quality Companion 2.3, including an animated product tour, is available at www.minitab.com/companion A free, 30-day trial version is also available online or by contacting Minitab at 1-800-448-3555.

About Minitab

Minitab Inc. is one of the world's leading developers of statistical analysis and process improvement software for academic and commercial users. Minitab Statistical Software is the preferred package for businesses of all sizes and is used in more than 80 countries by thousands of distinguished companies, including Toshiba, 3M, Honeywell International, Wachovia, DuPont, Haemonetics Corporation, Samsung and leading Six Sigma consultants. It has been used to implement virtually every major Six Sigma quality improvement initiative, and to teach statistics in over 4,000 colleges and universities worldwide.

Minitab Inc., headquartered in State College, Pa., operates offices in the United Kingdom, France, and Australia and has additional representatives throughout the world.

For more information or materials, including screen shots, product packaging images and logos, and other graphics, contact Eston Martz in Minitab's Marketing Department: mailto:PublicRelations@minitab.com