A methodology for planning experiments so that data appropriate for [statistical] analysis will be collected.

A method for analyzing and understanding the effects of factors on a process.

1) A process for structuring statistically valid studies in any science. 2) A quality management technique used to evaluate the effect of carefully planned and controlled changes to input process variables on the output variable. The objective is to improve production processes.

A branch of applied statistics dealing with planning, conducting, analyzing and interpreting controlled tests to evaluate the factors that control the value of a parameter or group of parameters.

A technique for improving the quality of both processes and products by effectively investigating several sources of variation at the same time using statistically planned experiments

A practical application of a statistical tool that enables low cost experimental methods to optimise the performance of products and processes during development.

An experimental design methodology that enables process designers to determine optimum product/process parameters by conducting a limited number of experiments involving combinations of variables.

The first statistician to consider a methodology for the design of experiments was Sir Ronald A. Fisher. He described how to test the hypothesis that a certain lady could distinguish by flavor alone whether the milk or the tea was first placed in the cup.