Book excerpt: Continuing a best-selling tradition, the third edition of Quality by Experimental Design uses the same easy-to-read and understand format that made the previous two editions so popular with newcomers and experienced readers alike. Completely revised and revamped, the third edition has lost none of the features that made each of the previous editions bestsellers in their own right. Written in Thomas Barker's trademark, conversational style, the third edition includes new topics on inference, more realistic practice problems, examples using Minitab®, and a large dose of Robust Design philosophy and methods. Barker integrates the Robust Design, sometimes known as the Taguchi approach, as a natural part of the design effort and establishes a criterion for measurement variables. He provides step-by-step guides to the Minitab software that give you the ability to apply the concepts in practical applications and includes easy to use experimental design templates. The author presents the mathematical aspects of statistical experimental design in an intuitive rather than a theoretical manner. Emphasizing both the philosophy and the techniques for setting up experiments, the book shows you how to achieve increased efficiency, timely accomplishment of goals, visualization through graphical and numerical representation, and control of the experiment through careful planning. Those new to QED will find some of the most powerful ideas in scientific investigation and engineering understanding in this book. Seasoned QED'ers will appreciate the new insight it offers and timely reviews of subjects in which they may have become a bit rusty.