The design of experiments is a project management tool and technique used while creating a quality management plan. It is a branch of applied statistics that deals with designing and analyzing experiments to test hypotheses and make predictions about the future.
It is a structured method for developing an experiment where it includes formulating a question, identifying variables, specifying levels for each variable, creating observation units, determining how to measure observations, and specifying statistical methods for analyzing data.
The design of experiments is a systematic approach to solving the problem of how to identify and control the factors that influence a process. It is a scientific technique for developing and testing hypotheses.
A well-designed experiment has the following characteristics:
- The experiment is well defined.
- The factors that may affect the outcome are identified and controlled.
- The experiment can be replicated or reproduced with different participants.
- There are few confounding variables in the design of the study, which can skew results or make them difficult to interpret.
- The experimental treatments are properly assigned, such that there is no bias in assignment.
- There are no extraneous variables, or other possible explanations for any observed effect, that could have interfered with the experimental treatments being tested.
The experimenter typically starts with one or more hypotheses about what factors might affect the quality of the product and then designs an experiment that will test those hypotheses. The experiment usually involves varying levels of each factor over some range and measuring the effect on quality, if any.
See also: Measurement performance domain