1. Introduction to Quality Improvement. 2. Statistical Methods for Data Analysis. 3. Design of Regression Experiments. 4. Taguchi's Approach to Quality Improvement. 5. Quality Improvement Through Reduction of the Errors Transmitted from the Factors to The Response. 6. Optimization Procedures for Robust Design of Products and Processes with Errors in the Factors. 7. Robustness Against Both Errors in Product Parameters and External Noise Factors. 8. Quality Improvement Through Mechanistic Models. 9. Quality Improvement of Products Depending on Both Qualitative and Quantitative Factors. 10. Other Methods for Model Based Quality Improvement. Bibliography. Subject Index. Author Index.

Residualplots 74 Normaland half-normal plots 77 2. 3. 10. TRANSFORMATIONS OF VARIABLES 80 2. 3. 11. WEIGHTED LEAST SQUARES 82 2. 4. Bibliography 84 Appendix A. 2. 1. Basic equation ofthe analysis ofvariance 84 Appendix A. 2. 2. Derivation of the simplified formulae (2. 1 0) and (2. 11) 85 Appendix A. 2. 3. Basic properties ofleast squares estimates 86 Appendix A. 2. 4. Sums ofsquares for tests for lack offit 88 Appendix A. 2. 5. Properties ofthe residuals 90 3. DESIGN OF REGRESSION EXPERIMENTS 96 3. 1. Introduction 96 3. 2. Variance-optimality of response surface designs 98 3. 3. Two Ievel full factorial designs 106 3. 3. 1. DEFINITIONS AND CONSTRUCTION 106 3. 3. 2. PROPERTIES OF TWO LEVEL FULL FACTORIAL DESIGNS 109 3. 3. 3. REGRESSION ANALYSIS OF DAT A OBT AlNED THROUGH TWO LEVEL FULL F ACTORIAL DESIGNS 113 Parameter estimation 113 Effects of factors and interactions 116 Statistical analysis of individual effects and test for lack of fit 118 3. 4. Two Ievel fractional factorial designs 123 3. 4. 1. CONSTRUCTION OF FRACTIONAL F ACTORIAL DESIGNS 123 3. 4. 2. FITTING EQUATIONS TO DATA OBTAlNED BY FRACTIONAL F ACTORIAL DESIGNS 130 3. 5. Bloclung 133 3. 6. Steepest ascent 135 3. 7. Second order designs 142 3. 7. 1. INTRODUCTION 142 3. 7. 2. COMPOSITE DESIGNS 144 Rotatable central composite designs 145 D-optimal composite designs 146 Hartley' s designs 146 3. 7. 3.