The first step in the test design process, identifying the test objective, drives all subsequent process steps. There are several common test objectives, each with corresponding statistical designs. The two most important test objectives for operational testing are screening for important factors and characterizing performance. This lesson will motivate the importance of collectively agreeing on a test objective, and outline the general process for screening and characterization.

References

1. Montgomery, D. C. (2017). Design and analysis of experiments (Ninth ed.): Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
2. Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (2010). Guidance on the use of Design of Experiments (DOE) in Operational Test and Evaluation.
3. Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (2013). Best Practices for Assessing the Statistical Adequacy of Experimental Designs Used in Operational Test and Evaluation.
4. Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation, Action Officer Training (2016). Testing Planning Foundations. https://www.dote.osd.mil/Publications/Training/
5. Freeman, L. J., Johnson, T., Avery, M., Lillard, V. B., & Clutter, J. (2018). Testing Defense Systems. Analytic Methods in Systems and Software Testing, 441.