[.ca] Design of Experiments Using The Taguchi Approach: 16 ... (ISBN 0471361011)

Great book for practical applications:
I bought this book hoping to learn DOE using Taguchi Methods and apply what I learned to real life problems in my work. It was very helpful. Not only did it help me learn the methods I needed to perform my testing at work but I did it in only 8 days of reading. The book was very easy to read and the examples helped me understand everything I needed to know to apply this method to real situations. A great buy for anyone looking to learn Taguchi Methods.

User friendly:
Dr.Roy's book is amazing. He has covered almost everything you need to know about the Taguchi method - even meticulous things. This book will suite both for beginners as well as for experts. The CD which comes along with this book is very helpful in understanding the concept behind the analysis with more than 50 examples. If at all you are looking for a book about Taguchi design of Experiments - I highly recommend one and all to buy Dr.Roy's book and benefit through his work. I started as a beginner and now Iam an expert in Taguchi analysis - and the credit goes to Dr.Roy - he also helps personally in answering your questions. Thank you very much Dr.Roy. Three CHEERS to Dr.Roy!

Must have for Quality Control Professionals and Educators:
First, I completely agree with all the good things mentioned in the other reviews, but wish to add the following comments: 1. The discussion group (usenet) hosted by Dr Roy is fantastic. If by chance you don't "get it" from reading the book, a simple question posted to the usenet frequently gets you an answer, often within a few hours (its a vocal crowd!!). Many times, the author himself responds to usenet questions. And, on at least one instance, after I repeatdly asked my question, he began exchanging emails with me, which then led to some pleasant phone disscussions. 2. User friendly software and support. See above. 3. Taguichi is frequently attacked by full blown Design of Experiments statistical types who miss the whole point. I strongly encourage all professionals interested in gauging quality control to try out his books and the free software downloads.... An excellent book with powerful software and support...... Reads like a winner, looks like a winner, performs likes a winner....... need I say more... Auburn Alabama

Brief review of DOE using Taguchi approach by R. Roy:
Dr. Roy has been able to translate into everyday language some of the most difficult concepts of the Taguchi methodology. Whereas the book does not provide the reader with much theoretical background, it doeas provide ample examples and practical approaches to the methodology. Excellent sections are the discussions about the OAs and the modified arrays as well as the ANOVA. The references to the CD ROM are well placed. The shortcomings of the book are the very poor screens from the software package. In fact, in some cases they are unreadable. Another shortcoming is the absence of any discussion of tolerance design using the Taguchi methodology. Overall: a good book for reference.

An Introduction to More Effective Experimentation:
The challenge that all research directors and senior scientists face is that virtually all scientists are originally trained to believe that the only proper way to conduct an experiment is to vary only one factor at a time while holding all other variables fixed. This belief, which can be shown mathematically to be totally incorrect, has been a drag on the scientific community for decades, causing experimental science to be much less productive than it should be. In fact, by properly designing experiments in which several factors are varied in a carefully thought out, predetermined pattern, much more information can be obtained with far fewer experiments. What Dr. Roy has achieved in his book on experimental design is to clearly explain why this is so and to provide the tools which allows his readers to overcome their ingrained beliefs and adopt a more effective method of designing their own experimental programs. Of particular interest is his discussion of experimental design using orthogonal arrays (Chapter 4) for it is in this part of the book that the full power of modern approaches to experimentation become most evident. Here, he illustrates how a set of as few as eight experiments can be used to determine how three presumable independent factors, such as time, temperature and concentration, can be studied to obtain detailed information not only on how each factor individually effects the quality of the final product, but also on the extent to which the factors interact. Historically, learning this type of technique for designing experiments has been a daunting task since somewhat tedious mathematically manipulations are required for both the design of the experiment and the analyses of the resulting data. However, included with Dr. Roy's book is complete software which eliminates the need for the experimenter to either manually solve the handful of equations needed to extract the results in useful form, or to develop custom spreadsheets in an attempt to automate the process. The software is easy to use and includes all of the tables and data which are used in the book to illustrate the principles of experimental design. The software is also capable of assisting the experimenter in designing sets of up to eight concurrent experiments, rapidly analyzing the data and generating graphical and tabular presentations which greatly aid in the interpretation of the results. This is an extremely useful book which can have a major beneficial effect on the productivity of any laboratory engaged in experimental process research such as crystal growth, chemical synthesis or manufacturing. By allowing the reader to overcome his innate aversion to varying more than one experimental factor at a time, the book makes it possible for the reader to become a much more productive scientist or engineer and become a role model for his coworkers to emulate.