# 33. Necessary Condition Analysis

## Purpose

Is digital capability necessary, though not necessarily sufficient, for high innovation performance?

## Practice study

- File: [innovation-necessity.csv](../samples/innovation-necessity.csv)
- Observations: 360
- Data type: deterministic synthetic instructional data
- Complexity: a realistic multivariable observed-data analysis

## Exact procedure

1. Start QuickPLS and choose **New Project**. Enter a readable project name such as **Necessary Condition Analysis Tutorial** and choose a local `.qpls` destination.

2. Open **Data**, choose **Import Data**, select **innovation-necessity.csv**, keep the detected header row, review the preview, and choose **Import**. Confirm 360 observations are available.

   ![Necessary Condition Analysis imported data](../screenshots/necessary-condition-analysis/01-data-ready.png)

3. This method does not require a latent-variable diagram. In its setup screen use these roles: X: digital_capability. Y: innovation_performance. Keep environmental_opportunity and firm_size_log outside the focal NCA pair.

4. Review the selected outcome, predictors, groups, or analysis variables. Remove case_id and every unused teaching/reference column from the analysis selection.

   ![Necessary Condition Analysis prepared model or variable roles](../screenshots/necessary-condition-analysis/02-variable-roles.png)

5. Check that every required role is populated with a numeric variable and that outcome/predictor selections do not overlap.

6. Use **Calculate → Necessary Condition Analysis**.

   ![Necessary Condition Analysis calculation setup](../screenshots/necessary-condition-analysis/03-calculation-setup.png)

7. Complete the method-specific settings:

- Choose the supported ceiling line
- Use a fixed permutation seed and the tutorial permutation count

8. Read **Readiness**, leave **Open Results when finished** selected, and choose **Start calculation** once. Wait for **Completed**; do not close the project while the result is being saved.

9. In **Results**, confirm **Necessary Condition Analysis** is selected and inspect these outputs in order:

1. Ceiling and effect size
2. Bottleneck table
3. Permutation inference
4. Ceiling plot

   ![Necessary Condition Analysis primary result](../screenshots/necessary-condition-analysis/04-results-primary.png)

   ![Necessary Condition Analysis secondary result](../screenshots/necessary-condition-analysis/05-results-secondary.png)

10. Choose **Save Report** to preserve the exact result. Use **Export** for the needed table/report format. Close and reopen the project once and confirm the saved result remains selectable.

## Reading guidance

- The data are deterministic synthetic teaching data. They are suitable for reproducing the workflow, not for substantive publication claims.