Excel QM has been designed to help you to better learn and understand both quantitative analysis and Excel. Even though the software contains many modules and submodules, the screens for every module are consistent and easy to use. The modules are illustrated in Program 1.3.

Excel QM is an add-in to Excel, so you must have Excel on your PC. To install Excel QM, go to the Companion Website for instructions and the free download. An Excel QM icon will be placed on your desktop.

To run Excel QM, click the icon on the desktop, and Excel will start with the Excel QM add-in available. In addition to the usual Excel tabs, a tab for Excel QM will appear. Click this to see the Excel QM ribbon. There are two items on this ribbon that can be used to access the available techniques. The first way is to select By Chapter, which will show the techniques arranged by chapter number. The second way is to select Alphabetical, which will display the techniques in alphabetical order. Using either of these, select the appropriate technique based on the problem you want to enter. A window will open for you to input information about the problem, such as the number of variables or the number of observations. When you click OK, a spreadsheet that has been initialized will appear. Instructions are included in a text box that appears just below the title that has been given to that problem. These instructions typically indicate what you must enter on the worksheet and, for certain methods, what other steps are necessary to obtain the final solution. For many of the modules, no further steps are necessary. For others, such as linear programming, Excel QM will have provided the inputs and made the necessary selections for the use of Solver.

Excel QM serves two purposes in the learning process. First, it can simply help you solve homework problems. You enter the appropriate data, and the program provides numerical solutions. QM for Windows operates on the same principle. But Excel QM allows for a second approach— that is, noting the Excel formulas used to develop solutions and modifying them to deal with a wider variety of problems. This “open” approach allows you to observe, understand, and even change the formulas underlying the Excel calculations, conveying Excel’s power as a quantitative analysis tool.

If you have technical problems with either POM-QM for Windows or Excel QM that your instructor cannot answer, send an email to the address found at the www.prenhall.com/weiss website. If you send email, be sure to include the name of the program (POM-QM for Windows or Excel QM), the version of the program (from Help, About in POM-QM for Windows; from QM About in Excel QM), the module in which the problem is occurring, and a detailed explanation of the problem and attach the data file for which the problem occurs (if appropriate).

Two important Excel add-ins are Solver and Analysis ToolPak. Both of these are a part of Excel but must be activated or loaded before you can use them the first time. To load these add-ins, follow these steps:

1. For Excel 2016 and 2013, click the File tab, click Options, and then click Add-Ins.

2. In the Manage box, select Excel Add-Ins and click Go.

3. Check the boxes next to Analysis ToolPak and Solver Add-In, and then click OK.

The Data tab now displays Solver and Data Analysis every time Excel is started. Instructions on using Data Analysis for regression are provided in Chapter 4.