Category Archives: Design of Experiments

Design of Experiments in Operational Testing

Posted on November 3, 2007 by John Hunter

Edwards looks toward future of testing We are fielding a Design of Experiments concept to ensure we conduct the right amount of testing — not too much or too little, but just right. We will field this approach in phases as we must train our people and put the right tools in place. However, it is already showing great promise. In a recent Benefield Anechoic Facility test, the 412th Electronic Warfare Group used Design of Experiments methodology to cut a … Continue reading →

Posted in Design of Experiments, Management, Public Sector, Quality tools

2007 William G. Hunter Award

Posted on October 19, 2007 by John Hunter

T.N. Goh received ASQ Statistics Division’s 2007 William G. Hunter Award. He sent me this email: You may not realize that I first met Bill 38 year ago, when he was in Singapore helping us set up the first school of engineering in the country. He persuaded me to go to the graduate school at UW-Madison and I daresay that’s the best advice I ever got in my whole career. Now when I come to think of it, what Bill … Continue reading →

Posted in Design of Experiments, Management, Statistics | 1 Comment

Six Sigma in Software Development

Posted on August 13, 2007 by John Hunter

Six Sigma makes inroads in software development organizations “A lot of big companies are developing their own software engineering variance of Six Sigma training,” said Siviy, “putting software-specific examples into the normal Six Sigma curriculum.” However, she said, it’s early in the adoption curve. “In the software world there is a real lack of case studies that show applications of Six Sigma in software engineering,” she said. And those that use Six Sigma in software are often reluctant to share … Continue reading →

Posted in Design of Experiments, IT, Management, Six sigma, Software Development

Mistakes in Experimental Design and Interpretation

Posted on June 19, 2007 by John Hunter

Mistakes in Experimental Design and Interpretation Humans are very good at detecting patterns, but rather poor at detecting randomness. We expect random incidents of cancer to be spread homogeneously, when in fact true randomness results in random clusters, not homogeneity. It is a mistake for an experiment to consider a pool of 47,000 possibilities, and then only report on the 7 cases that seem interesting. … A proper experiment states its hypothesis before gathering evidence and then puts the hypothesis … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Design of Experiments, Management, Psychology, Science, Statistics | 2 Comments

Google Website Optimizer

Posted on April 7, 2007 by John Hunter

Google’s Website Optimizer allows for multivariate testing of your website. Website Optimizer, Google’s free multivariate testing application, helps online marketers increase visitor conversion rates and overall visitor satisfaction by continually testing different combinations of site content (text and images). Rather than sitting in a room and arguing over what will work better, you can save time and eliminate the guesswork by simply letting your visitors tell you what works best. We’ll guide you through the process of designing and implementing … Continue reading →

Posted in Design of Experiments, Google, IT, Management | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Experiment and Learn

Posted on March 18, 2007 by John Hunter

Experimenting with milkshakes? I have been on a mission to convince firms to do simple experiments that will give them feedback regarding the decisions that they make. Just as with people (as Anders Ericsson studies), firms cannot learn with feedback. It turns out, however, that it is not easy for people in companies to see the wisdom in experiments. Experiments are useful and underused. PDSA and design of experiments are two concepts that aid in experimenting successfully. Related: Google: Experiment … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Deming, Design of Experiments, Management, Quality tools | Tagged , ,

Scientific Thinking – the Modern Way

Posted on February 14, 2007 by John Hunter

“Scientific thinking” the modern way [the broken link was removed] by Bill Harris: What does this all mean? It simply means that Fisher’s designed experiments give us better and faster means to extract insight from tests on system dynamics models than the old one-factor-at-a-time approach. I thank Deb Schenk, then (and perhaps now) statistician at Hewlett-Packard Company, for teaching me and others about the design of experiments using Statistics for Experimenters: An Introduction to Design, Data Analysis, and Model Building … Continue reading →

Posted in Design of Experiments, Management, Science | 1 Comment

Why Use Designed Factorial Experiments?

Posted on November 28, 2006 by John Hunter

One-Factor-at-a-Time Versus Designed Experiments (site broke link so I removed it -when will people learn how to manage web content?) by Veronica Czitrom: The advantages of designed experiments over [One Factor at a Time] OFAT experiments are illustrated using three real engineering OFAT experiments, and showing how in each case a designed experiment would have been better. This topic is important because many scientists and engineers continue to perform OFAT experiments. I still remember, as a child, asking what my … Continue reading →

Posted in Design of Experiments, Management, Six sigma | 1 Comment

Using Design of Experiments as a Process Road Map

Posted on April 23, 2006 by John Hunter

Using Design of Experiments as a Process Road Map by Davis Balestracci: The current design of experiments (DOE) renaissance seems to favor factorial designs and/or orthogonal arrays as a panacea. In my 25 years as a statistician, my clients have always found much more value in obtaining a process “road map” by generating the inherent response surface in a situation. It’s hardly an advanced technique, but it leads to much more effective optimization and process control. DoE is a tool … Continue reading →

Posted in Design of Experiments, Management, Process improvement, Statistics | Tagged

Using Design of Experiments

Posted on March 17, 2006 by John Hunter

How to Institute DOE in Your Company (link broken – removed) by Davis Balestracci: DOE works, but I don’t need to sell that to the readers of this newsletter. But as certain as we all are, no one can deny that design of experiments faces resistance even in environments where it is a proven tool. Every research scientist or engineer who has had a major success from DOE can tell you story after story of how management still wanted problems … Continue reading →

Posted in Design of Experiments, Management, Quality tools, Six sigma | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Box on Quality

Posted on October 11, 2005 by John Hunter

Dr. George Box is not as well known in the general management community as his ideas merit (in my biased opinion – photo of Bill Hunter and George Box). He is well know in the statistics field as one of the leading statistical minds. Box on Quality is an excellent book that gathers his essays from his 65th to 80th year. The book has just been issued in paperback (which helps as the hardback was pricey). While some of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Design of Experiments, Management, Management Articles, Statistics | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Design of Experiments in Advertising

Posted on August 9, 2005 by John Hunter

How Two Guys From the Gold Country Are Changing Advertising Forever [the broken link has been removed] by Robert X. Cringely James Kowalick and Mario Fantoni, two guys who say they can show you how to use science to design ads that cost less while being 10 or more times as effective as doing it the old way. Their secret is the Taguchi Method, which is a technique for designing experiments that converge on an ideal product solution. … “I … Continue reading →

Posted in Design of Experiments, Management | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Design of Experiments Articles

Posted on July 25, 2005 by John Hunter

We have added several Design of Experiments articles to the Curious Cat Management Improvement Library recently, including: Teaching Engineers Experimental Design With a Paper Helicopter by George Box Rethinking the Paper Helicopter [the broken link was removed] by David H. Annis DOE It Yourself by Mark J. Anderson, A list of Design of Experiments exercises that can be done in a classroom setting or as home by students with short explanations and links to documents online wtih more details. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Design of Experiments, Management, Statistics | Tagged

Marketers Are Embracing Statistical Design of Experiments

Posted on May 27, 2005 by John Hunter

Marketers Are Embracing Statistical Design of Experiments (site broke link so I removed it) by Richard Burnham. Crayola® conducts an e-mail marketing DOE to attract parents and teachers to their new Internet site. The company discovers a combination of factors that makes their new e-mail pitch three-and-a-half times more effective than the control. (Harvard Business Review, October 2001, “Boost Your Marketing ROI with Experimental Design,” Almquist, Wyner.) … Marketers can’t always be certain what triggers buyers to respond. In the … Continue reading →

Posted in Design of Experiments, Management Articles, Six sigma, Statistics | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Open Source Management Terms

Posted on May 23, 2005 by John Hunter

Statistical Method Helps Boost Bottom Lines, Batting Averages [the broken link was removed] by Jon Van, Chicago Tribune: Using statistical techniques embraced by quality guru W. Edwards Deming, Holland has worked for a generation guiding enterprises large and small to boost efficiency. … Yet getting management support for an MVT project is vital, Holland said, because experience shows that only 25 percent of ideas intended to improve a process will have a positive effect. The others will either have no … Continue reading →

Posted in Design of Experiments, Management | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Statistics for Experimenters – Second Edition

Posted on March 8, 2005 by John Hunter

The classic Statistics for Experimenters has been updated by George Box and Stu Hunter, two of the three original authors. Bill Hunter, who was my father, and the other author, died in 1986. Order online: Statistics for Experimenters: Design, Innovation, and Discovery , 2nd Edition by George E. P. Box, J. Stuart Hunter, William G. Hunter. I happen to agree with those who call this book a classic, however, I am obviously biased. Google Scholar citations for the first edition … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Data, Design of Experiments, Innovation, Management, Manufacturing, Six sigma, Statistics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments