DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS

by
Dr. Majid Majeed Akbar
Institute of Chemical Engineering &
Technology
UNIVERSITY OF THE PUNJAB
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 DOE is a formal mathematical method for

systematically planning and conducting scientific
studies that change experimental variables
together in order to determine their effect of a
given response.
DOE makes controlled changes to input
variables in order to gain maximum amounts of
information on cause and effect relationships
with a minimum sample size.
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 DOE is more efficient that a standard

approach of changing one variable at a
time in order to observe the variables
impact on a given response.
DOE generates information on the effect
various factors have on a response variable
and in some cases may be able to determine
optimal settings for those factors.
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 DOE encourages brainstorming activities

associated with discussing key factors that may
affect a given response and allows the
experimenter to identify the key factors for
future studies.
DOE is readily supported by numerous statistical
software packages available on the market.
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BASIC STEPS IN DOE

Four elements associated with DOE:

1. The design of the experiment,
2. The collection of the data,
3. The statistical analysis of the data, and
4. The conclusions reached and
recommendations made as a result of the
experiment.
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TERMINOLOGY
Replication repetition of a basic
experiment without changing any factor
settings, allows the experimenter to estimate
the experimental error (noise) in the system
used to determine whether observed
differences in the data are real or just
noise, allows the experimenter to obtain
more statistical power (ability to identify
small effects)
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TERMINOLOGY
Randomization a statistical tool used to minimize
potential uncontrollable biases in the experiment by
randomly assigning material, people, order that
experimental trials are conducted, or any other
factor not under the control of the experimenter.
Results in averaging out the effects of the
extraneous factors that may be present in order to
minimize the risk of these factors affecting the
experimental results.
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TERMINOLOGY
Blocking technique used to increase the
precision of an experiment by breaking the
experiment into homogeneous segments
(blocks) in order to control any potential
block to block variability (multiple lots of
raw material, several shifts, several
machines, several inspectors). Any effects
on the experimental results as a result of the
blocking factor will be identified and
minimized.
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TERMINOLOGY
Confounding - A concept that basically means that
multiple effects are tied together into one parent
effect and cannot be separated. For example,
1. Two people flipping two different coins would
result in the effect of the person and the effect of
the coin to be confounded
2. As experiments get large, higher order
interactions are confounded with lower order
interactions or main effect.

TERMINOLOGY
Factors experimental factors or
independent variables (continuous or
discrete) an investigator manipulates to
capture any changes in the output of the
process. Other factors of concern are those
that are uncontrollable and those which are
controllable but held constant during the
experimental runs.

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TERMINOLOGY
Responses dependent variable measured
to describe the output of the process.
Treatment
Combinations
(run)

experimental trial where all factors are set

at a specified level.

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TERMINOLOGY

Fixed Effects Model - If the treatment

levels are specifically chosen by the
experimenter, then conclusions reached
will only apply to those levels.
Random Effects Model If the treatment
levels are randomly chosen from a
population of many possible treatment
levels, then conclusions reached can be
extended to all treatment levels in the
population.
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PLANNING A DOE
Everyone involved in the experiment should
have a clear idea in advance of exactly what
is to be studied, the objectives of the
experiment, the questions one hopes to be
answered and the results anticipated

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PLANNING A DOE
Select a response/dependent variable
(variables) that will provide information
about the problem under study and the
proposed measurement method for this
response
variable,
including
an
understanding of the measurement system
variability

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PLANNING A DOE
Select the independent variables/factors
(quantitative or qualitative) to be
investigated in the experiment, the number
of levels for each factor, and the levels of
each factor chosen either specifically (fixed
effects model) or randomly (random effects
model).

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PLANNING A DOE
Choose an appropriate experimental design
(relatively simple design and analysis methods are
almost always best) that will allow your experimental
questions to be answered once the data is collected
and analyzed, keeping in mind tradeoffs between
statistical power and economic efficiency. At this
point in time it is generally useful to simulate the
study by generating and analyzing artificial data to
ensure that experimental questions can be answered
as a result of conducting your experiment
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PLANNING A DOE
Perform the experiment (collect data)
paying particular attention such things as
randomization and measurement system
accuracy, while maintaining as uniform an
experimental environment as possible.
How the data are to be collected is a critical
stage in DOE

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PLANNING A DOE
Analyze the data using the appropriate
statistical model insuring that attention is
paid to checking the model accuracy by
validating
underlying
assumptions
associated with the model. Be liberal in the
utilization of all tools, including graphical
techniques, available in the statistical
software package to insure that a maximum
amount of information is generated
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PLANNING A DOE
Based on the results of the analysis, draw
conclusions/inferences about the results,
interpret the physical meaning of these
results, determine the practical significance
of the findings, and make recommendations
for a course of action including further
experiments

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