Book Reviews

JMP Essentials: An Illustrated Step-by-Step Guide for New Users, Second Edition
978-1-118-89367-8



"I found the first edition of JMP Essentials: An Illustrated Step-by-Step Guide for New Users, by Curt Hinrichs and Chuck Boiler, to be very useful in learning how to design experiments and analyze data with JMP. It has been useful both as a "how-to" guide and also a reference for commands I use less frequently. The new, second edition is even better. Not only will this book help novices "learn the ropes" of JMP, but even seasoned users will find that the documentation and step-by-step examples enable them to take full advantage of the more advanced functionality of JMP 11. I highly recommend this book to anyone using JMP."

Roger Hoerl
Brate-Peschel Assistant Professor of Statistics
Union College, Schenectady, NY


"JMP Essentials provides a great introduction to JMP that reduces to near 0 the time needed for a novice to perform great analysis with JMP. The book is especially strong in teaching the reader about JMP's fantastic visualization features. For instructors who want to use JMP in their class this book needs to be a required text."

Wayne Winston
Professor Emeritus of Decision Sciences
Kelley School of Business
Indiana University


"As JMP is designed around the workflow of a problem solver this book is intuitively designed around the learning workflow of a new user! It is uncanny how well the authors have addressed the most common problems that I have seen new JMP users encounter. The instructions are simple, clear, and succinct with more screen shots than text! The whole book is quite readable.

"Exposing the reader to JMP's workflow-based design is a great way to reinforce good analysis methods. I follow this in my own work and demonstrate it to others with JMP. The book certainly follows a great path of checking quality of data, visualizing data in many ways, solving problems with your data, and sharing the learning.

"Another nice feature is that the book is not mired in statistical jargon. This makes the book approachable and useful to all JMP users. I bet the vast majority of JMP users are not statisticians. Some are not engineers or scientists. Using common terms like "comparing one column to another" and "what if analysis" is really quite smart. I love it that there are many references to, and an entire chapter dedicated to, the online help tools -and a bonus reference to external resources! When a new user or new analyst is ready, they will definitely know where to go to get more detail and the jargon.

"I love the recipes for charts and graphs! These will be invaluable for not only new users but also the non-technical user. For example, a production employee could follow the simple recipe in the book to generate a control chart. What's more, starting with the data visualization is an awesome way to build a foundation that leads to deeper analysis and more skillful problem solvers. I love it that the book follows this same path.

"The "Preparing Data Using Recode" section is slick. People will definitely use this. Chapter 7, "Sharing Graphs" is one of the most powerful chapters in the book. I have seen many people struggle with this and it is so important! I am so glad the authors put so much attention to this topic. Sharing learning effectively is where the money is!

"I wish I had this book when I first picked up the software! This is a book I will certainly recommend to colleagues where I work, my user group, and other JMP users I interact with."

Jason Wiggins
US Synthetic


"Each version of JMP increases both its power and its range, and JMP 11 is no exception. Fortunately, Hinrichs and Boiler have written an update of their book JMP Essentials that includes guides to the new features of this upgrade. As I wrote in a review of the 1st edition of JMP Essentials, "Curt Hinrichs and Chuck Boiler have, with JMP Essentials, produced a practical, easy-to-understand guide for the beginning JMP user. Through extensive examples, they cover all the basics and more with an accessible and informal style. The tone is conversational and friendly. It's almost like having a guru watching over your shoulder while you learn...". The same is still true of the 2nd edition. It's even more important now because of the addition of such important new features as interactive mapping and, my personal favorite, the Informative Missing option inPartition. I continue to be amazed by the ease of use and the power of JMP. This new edition of JMP Essentials will help both the novice and the experienced user alike to take full advantage of all that JMP has to offer. "

Richard De Veaux
Professor of Statistics
Williams College


JMP Essentials: An Illustrated Step-by-Step Guide for New Users, Second Edition continues the SAS tradition of providing world class methodology to those using data to solve problems, make improvements, and discover new knowledge. It provides the guidance needed to effectively use the graphics and analytics produced by JMP. This publication will be useful to a broad audience ranging from those beginning to learn how to use JMP software to those seasoned professionals needing a refresher on how to use an option in JMP.

The importance of JMP and JMP Essentials: An Illustrated Step-by-Step Guide for New Users, Second Edition becomes clear when we reflect on the role of data in learning, problem solving, and improvement. Data are central to these activities and to the scientific method in general. Lord Kelvin tells us that "When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind."

So where do statistics fit into all of this? Data measure variation and measurements themselves are subject to variation. Statistical thinking and tools are required to successfully understand the variation. Statistical concepts, methods, and tools are used most effectively when used in conjunction with graphics. Best practice requires both graphics and statistics. When possible, the graphics should precede the statistics as graphics aid the data analysis process, enabling you to see those things that you never expected to see and provide a check on the statistical analysis process.

JMP Essentials: An Illustrated Step-by-Step Guide for New Users, Second Edition is written in this context. Graphs are presented first and then the appropriate numerical results follow. The focus is on the problem, as well as the tools needed to solve the problem. A list of shortcuts is provided (more than 150 by my count) to enable the user to quickly see all the tools provided by JMP and figure out which JMP commands to use to execute a particular task. Other unique features include: a graph index from basic to complex, guidance on finding the right graph, screen shots to visually guide the user, how to manipulate your data, using graphs to communicate, and how to get help when you need it.

Ronald D. Snee, PhD
Snee Associates, LLC


"Hinrichs and Boiler have done it again! They have taken a good book and made it even better. Whether you are a novice user of JMP or you have used it for a long time you will find a detailed, hands-on and illustrated guide book about how to use JMP for data manipulation, data visualization, and data analysis. I feel the power of JMP for visualization in particular has been extremely well brought out by these authors. In this era of big data, powerful visualization is a key tool in any analyst's arsenal and I am confident that this book will help you use that tool more effectively than you have in the past."

Dr. Goutam Chakraborty
Professor (Marketing)
Director, Graduate Certificate Program in Business Data Mining
Director, Graduate Certificate Program in Marketing Analytics