Advantages of MECanalyst
Means-end analysis, which is usually perceived as a complex, time-consuming and expensive study method, becomes simpler and friendlier with MECanalyst. The utilization of this software simplifies and solves some of the typical problems encountered in the phases of coding and subsequent analysis of laddering interviews (Grunert and Grunert, 1995). In particular, this software performs a significant amount of operations, making the greatest part of the data processing and map construction work nimbler and more detailed at the same time.

MECanalyst possesses some features that set it apart from previous software:

ease of use:
MECanalyst is endowed with a simple and intuitive interface and has been designed for use also by operators approaching means-end analysis for the fist time (e.g. students.);

data storage and processing ability:
MECanalyst allows to manage and store an unlimited amount of data (i.e. number of respondents, number and/or length of the ladders/chunks expressed by each respondent);

graphic interface:
all operations – entering and modification of the data collected, attribution of synonyms and clustering of data, etc. – are made dramatically easier, more agile, and in some cases even automatic (e.g. calculation of centrality and abstractness indices);

coding of data:
MECanalyst has an option which facilitates and streamlines the most complex task of data analysis: content analysis. Its in-built “pattern recognition” tool allows to reduce and simplify the coding phase, a very expensive part of all means-end analyses, making this software a unique, easy-to-use and highly effective tool to study consumers’ cognitive processes;

visualization of results / output management:
since MECanalyst is based on Microsoft Windows™ applications (such as Powerpoint™ and Excel™) for output generation, it is easy to manage the processing of results with reference to both the graphic module, i.e. when presenting the final maps, and the implication matrix (should the laddering results be supplemented by further statistical analyses);

theoretical principles:
since MECanalyst implies and applies, in a flexible though rigorous manner, the more recent theories in the field of means-analysis, it constitutes a valuable tool in laddering studies.

Further software modules are being investigated to make MECanalyst increasingly effective and useful. In particular, the research team is studying an extension of the program aimed at facilitating the administration of laddering interviews in the data collection phase.
Such extension would also enable a larger number of interviews to be managed, a feature currently limited by the high cost of data collection. This would allow the method to be applied to large-scale quantitative studies, resulting in greater reliability of data without a corresponding increase in cost.