Background & Basic Definition

The first statistician to consider a formal mathematical methodology for the design of experiments was Sir Ronald A. Fisher. Earlier applications of D.O.E date back to 1747. While serving as surgeon on HM Bark Salisbury, James Lind, the ship's surgeon, carried out a controlled experiment to discover a cure for diseases.

Design of Experiments (D.O.E or Taguchi Methods) is an efficient & powerful methodology for planning experiments & analyzing their subsequent results. Increased efficiency, reduced waste, reduced lead time to market for new products, & increased "Robustness" are some of the obvious benefits of DOE, through better understanding of products & processes. Better understanding is in turn achieved via selecting a diverse, representative set of experiments in which all factors are varied simultaneously yet independently of one another. D.O.E produces a predictive model of the process/product, where the main effect of factors & their interactions are accurately quantified.

Today, D.O.E methodology of experimental design and analysis are international standards in business and applied science.