A Theory of Performance Measures in Parameter Design (NOT KNOWN IF PUBLISHED BECAUSE AUTHOR HAS LEFT AT&T)

Parameter design is a quality engineering method, popularized by Japanese quality expert G. Taguchi, that aims to reduce sensitivity to hard- to-control variation in products and manufacturing processes. The method finds the settings of design factors that minimize expected loss due to variation. To do the minimization Taguchi uses controversial two-step procedures involving quantities he calls signal-to-noise (SN) ratios.