Overview for Multi-Vari Chart

Use Multi-Vari Chart as a preliminary tool to investigate variation in your data, including cyclical variations and interactions between factors. A multi-vari chart provides a graphical representation of the relationships between factors and a response.

The multi-vari chart displays the means at each factor level for every factor. In Minitab, each multi-vari chart can display up to four factors.

For example, a manufacturer produces plastic pipes using two different machines with three temperature settings. The quality engineer is concerned about the consistency of pipe diameters from the different machines and settings. The engineer creates a multi-vari chart to investigate the variation in pipe diameters.

Where to find this analysis

To create multi-vari charts, choose Stat > Quality Tools > Multi-Vari Chart.

When to use an alternate analysis

To test the statistical significance of the factors or the interactions, you can use an ANOVA (analysis of variance) or a regression analysis. Use Variability Chart when you have more than four factors or when you want to examine an average response with variation chart and a standard deviation chart.