Mathews P.G. Design of Experiments With MINITAB

American Society for Quality, 2004. — 499 p. — ISBN: 0873896378, 9780873896375Design of experiments (DOE) is a methodology for studying any response that varies as a function of one or more independent variables or knobs. By observing the response under a planned matrix of knob settings, a statistically valid mathematical model for the response can be determined. The resulting model can be used for a variety of purposes:
to select optimum levels for the knobs; to focus attention on the crucial knobs and eliminate the distractions caused by minor or insignificant knobs; to provide predictions for the response under a variety of knob settings; to identify and reduce the response’s sensitivity to troublesome knobs and interactions between knobs; and so on. Clearly, DOE is an essential tool for studying complex systems and it is the only rigorous replacement for the inferior but unfortunately still common practice of studying one variable at a time (OVAT).