About this Course

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We are always using experiments to improve our lives, our community, and our work. Are you doing it efficiently? Or are you (incorrectly) changing one thing at a time and hoping for the best? 
In this course, you will learn how to plan efficient experiments - testing with many variables. Our goal is to find the best results using only a few experiments. A key part of the course is how to optimize a system.

We use simple tools: starting with fast calculations by hand, then we show how to use FREE software. 

The course comes with slides, transcripts of all lectures, subtitles (English, Spanish and Portuguese; some Chinese and French), videos, audio files, source code, and a free textbook. You get to keep all of it, all freely downloadable.

This course is for anyone working in a company, or wanting to make changes to their life, their community, their neighbourhood. You don't need to be a statistician or scientist! There's something for everyone in here. 
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Over 1500 people have completed this online course. What have prior students said about this course?

"This definitely is one of the most fruitful courses I have participated at Coursera, considering the takeaways and implementations! And so far I finished 12 [courses]."

"Excelente curso, flexible y con suficiente material didáctico fácilmente digerible y cómodo. No importa si se tiene pocas bases matemáticas o estadísticas, el curso proporciona casi toda explicación necesaria para un entendimiento alto."

"I wish I had enrolled in your course years ago -- it would have saved us a lot of time in optimizing experimental conditions." Jason Eriksen, 3 Jan 2017

"Interesting and developing both analytical and creative thinking. The lecturer took care to bring lots of real live examples which are fun to analyze." 20 February 2016.

"... love your style of presentation, and the examples you took from everyday life to explain things. It is very difficult to make such a mathematical course accessible and comprehensible to this wide a variety of people!"
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Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Intermediate Level

Approx. 13 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

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Skills you will gain

Process Optimization
R Programming
Experimental Design
Experiment

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Intermediate Level

Approx. 13 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.84/5 (130 Ratings)

Kevin Dunn

Formerly: Assistant Professor

Chemical Engineering

34,955 Learners

1 Course

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating97%(4,010 ratings)

Week1

Week 1

2 hours to complete

Introduction

2 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 27 min), 1 reading, 2 quizzes

Week2

Week 2

2 hours to complete

Analysis of experiments by hand

2 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 59 min), 1 reading, 2 quizzes

Week3

Week 3

2 hours to complete

Using computer software to analyze experiments

2 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 39 min), 1 reading, 2 quizzes

5 videos

3A: Setting up the least squares model for a 2 factor experiment5m3B: Solving the mathematical model for a 2 factor experiment using software8m3C: Using computer software for a 3 factor experiment8m3D: Case study: a 4-factor system using computer software9mEnrichment: Dr. Soo Chan Carusone talks about experiments in a medical context7m

1 reading

Materials for this section10m

2 practice exercises

Ungraded practice quiz 330mModule 3 quiz30m

Week4

Week 4

3 hours to complete

Getting more information, with fewer experiments

This is where the course gets tough and rough, but real. The quiz at the end if a tough one, so take it several times to be sure you have mastered the material - that's all that matters - understanding. We want to do as few experiments as possible, while still learning the most we can. Feel free to skip to module 5, which is the crucial learning from the whole course. You can come back here later. In module 4 we show how to do *practical* experiments that practitioners use everyday. We learn about important safeguards to ensure that we are not mislead by Mother Nature.

3 hours to complete

9 videos (Total 88 min), 1 reading, 3 quizzes

9 videos

4A: The trade-offs when doing half-fraction factorials13m4B: The technical details behind half-fractions - math warning!9m4C: A case study with aliasing in a fractional factorial6m4D: All about disturbances, why we randomize, and what covariates are10m4E: All about blocking9m4F: Introducing aliasing notation11m4G: Using aliasing notation to plan experiments10m4H: An example of an analyzing an experiment with aliasing9mEnrichment: My colleague, David, and his student Jeff, talk about water treatment experiments5m

1 reading

Materials for this section10m

3 practice exercises

Ungraded practice quiz 4: [4A,B,C,D]30mUngraded practice quiz [4E, 4F, 4G, 4H]30mModule 4 quiz [4A to 4H]30m

Reviews

4.8

234 reviews

5 stars
86.51%
4 stars
12.13%
3 stars
1.12%
2 stars
0.11%
1 star
0.11%

TOP REVIEWS FROM EXPERIMENTATION FOR IMPROVEMENT

by SZApr 10, 2019

Satisfying course content and structure. Reasonable course speed. Nice, practical reference. Good introduction to design of experiments and response surface methods.

by AAOct 6, 2018

Really interesting course, simple and helpful for all fields. It required not specific background, just start and enjoy the wonderful way Kevin illustrate the course.

by SMJul 21, 2020

It is one of the best course present on coursera. I would recommend everyone to take this course. It will not only help you to optimize your activities in work place but also in your personal life.

by EBFeb 18, 2018

Very good course,and an excellent instructor. Thank you very much Professor Kevin Dunn.

I enjoyed your course, and I really appreciate the time and effort you put into those lessons

View all reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

Experimentation for Improvement