Training technologists in experimental design

Statistically designed experiments have proven to be one of the few reliabl e, effective weapons in the 20th century arsenal of globally competitive fi rms. Although lacking, the ephemeral 'flavor of the month "property of many of the business techniques introduced during recent decades, they have bee n in continuous commercial use since their introduction by Sir Ronald Fishe r during the 1920s. R&D managers would benefit greatly if they could identi fy the "vital few" outstanding courses from among the hundreds of academic and commercial ones available on this topic. Consequently, the author postu lates seven best practices associated with such a world-class course. A 4 1 /2-day workshop based on these principles was taught to scientists and engi neers from a cross-section of industrial firms on two separate occasions. T he subsequent student evaluations seem to validate the hypothesized seven b est practices.