Experimentation for Improvement

Give your career the gift of Coursera Plus with $160 off, billed annually. Save today.

Experimentation for Improvement

Instructor: Kevin Dunn

37,146 already enrolled

Included with Coursera Plus

Learn more

6 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

4.9

(916 reviews)

Intermediate level

Some related experience required

Flexible schedule

Approx. 13 hours

Learn at your own pace

97%

Most learners liked this course

6 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

4.9

(916 reviews)

Intermediate level

Some related experience required

Flexible schedule

Approx. 13 hours

Learn at your own pace

97%

Most learners liked this course

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Assessments

14 assignments

Taught in English

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Learn more about Coursera for Business

Earn a career certificate

Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV

Share it on social media and in your performance review

There are 6 modules in this course

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. ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ 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!" ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

We perform experiments all the time, so let's learn some terminology that we will use throughout the course. We show plenty of examples, and see how to analyze an experiment. We end by pointing out: "how not to run an experiment".

What's included

5 videos1 reading2 assignments

5 videosTotal 27 minutes

Promotional video for this course1 minutePreview module
1A: Why experiments are so important7 minutes
1B: Some basic terminology5 minutes
1C: Analysis of your first experiment8 minutes
1D: How NOT to run an experiment3 minutes

1 readingTotal 10 minutes

Materials for this section10 minutes

2 assignmentsTotal 60 minutes

Ungraded practice quiz 130 minutes
Module 1 quiz30 minutes

The focus is on manual calculations. Why? Because you have to understand the most basic building blocks of efficient experiments. We look at systems with 2 and 3 variables (factors). Don't worry; the computer will do the work in the next module.

What's included

5 videos1 reading2 assignments

5 videosTotal 59 minutes

2A: Analysis of experiments in two factors by hand13 minutesPreview module
2B: Numeric predictions from two-factor experiments7 minutes
2C: Two-factor experiments with interactions15 minutes
2D: In-depth case study: analyzing a system with 3 factors by hand17 minutes
Enrichment: Made for you by Madeleine: an interview with Joy5 minutes

1 readingTotal 10 minutes

Materials for this section10 minutes

2 assignmentsTotal 60 minutes

Ungraded practice quiz 230 minutes
Module 2 quiz30 minutes

Now we use free software to do the work for us. You can even run the software through a website (without installing anything special). We look at systems with 2, 3 and 4 factors. Most importantly we focus on the software interpretation.

What's included

5 videos1 reading2 assignments

5 videosTotal 39 minutes

3A: Setting up the least squares model for a 2 factor experiment5 minutesPreview module
3B: Solving the mathematical model for a 2 factor experiment using software8 minutes
3C: Using computer software for a 3 factor experiment8 minutes
3D: Case study: a 4-factor system using computer software9 minutes
Enrichment: Dr. Soo Chan Carusone talks about experiments in a medical context7 minutes

1 readingTotal 10 minutes

Materials for this section10 minutes

2 assignmentsTotal 60 minutes

Ungraded practice quiz 330 minutes
Module 3 quiz30 minutes

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.

What's included

9 videos1 reading3 assignments

9 videosTotal 88 minutes

4A: The trade-offs when doing half-fraction factorials13 minutesPreview module
4B: The technical details behind half-fractions - math warning!9 minutes
4C: A case study with aliasing in a fractional factorial6 minutes
4D: All about disturbances, why we randomize, and what covariates are10 minutes
4E: All about blocking9 minutes
4F: Introducing aliasing notation11 minutes
4G: Using aliasing notation to plan experiments10 minutes
4H: An example of an analyzing an experiment with aliasing9 minutes
Enrichment: My colleague, David, and his student Jeff, talk about water treatment experiments5 minutes

1 readingTotal 10 minutes

Materials for this section10 minutes

3 assignmentsTotal 90 minutes

Ungraded practice quiz 4: [4A,B,C,D]30 minutes
Ungraded practice quiz [4E, 4F, 4G, 4H]30 minutes
Module 4 quiz [4A to 4H]30 minutes

This is the goal we've been working towards: how to optimize any system. We start gently. We optimize a system with 1 factor and we also show why optimizing one factor at a time is misleading. We spend several videos to show how to optimize a system with 2 variables.

What's included

8 videos1 reading4 assignments

8 videosTotal 95 minutes

5A: Response surface methods (RSM): an introduction6 minutesPreview module
5B: Response surface methods (RSM): one variable18 minutes
5C: Why changing one factor at a time (OFAT) will mislead you5 minutes
5D: The concept of contour plots and which objectives should we maximize3 minutes
5E: RSM in 2 factors: introducing the case study19 minutes
5F: RSM case study continues: constraints and mistakes13 minutes
5G: RSM case study continues: approaching the optimum17 minutes
Enrichment: An interview with Dr. Joe Kim (McMaster University)10 minutes

1 readingTotal 10 minutes

Materials for this section10 minutes

4 assignmentsTotal 120 minutes

Ungraded practice quiz [5A, 5B, 5C, 5D]30 minutes
Ungraded practice quiz [5E, 5F, 5G]30 minutes
Module 5 quiz [5A, 5B, 5C, 5D]30 minutes
Module 5 quiz [5E, 5F, 5G]30 minutes

We close up the course and point out the next steps you might follow to extend what you have learned here.

What's included

1 video1 reading1 assignment

Instructor

Instructor ratings

4.8 (142 ratings)

Kevin Dunn

McMaster University

1 Course37,146 learners

Offered by

McMaster University

Recommended if you're interested in Probability and Statistics

Deep Teaching Solutions
Think Critically: Deductive Reasoning and Mental Models
Course
Rice University
Principles of Economics: Microeconomics - Down to Business
Course
Packt
120 Quick Stata Tips
Course
UNSW Sydney (The University of New South Wales)
Mechanics: Motion, Forces, Energy and Gravity, from Particles to Planets
Course

Why people choose Coursera for their career

Felipe M.

Learner since 2018

"To be able to take courses at my own pace and rhythm has been an amazing experience. I can learn whenever it fits my schedule and mood."

Jennifer J.

Learner since 2020

"I directly applied the concepts and skills I learned from my courses to an exciting new project at work."

Larry W.

Learner since 2021

"When I need courses on topics that my university doesn't offer, Coursera is one of the best places to go."

Chaitanya A.

"Learning isn't just about being better at your job: it's so much more than that. Coursera allows me to learn without limits."

Learner reviews

Showing 3 of 916

4.9

916 reviews

5 stars
86.68%
4 stars
12%
3 stars
1.09%
2 stars
0.10%
1 star
0.10%

Reviewed on Sep 30, 2019

Reviewed on Apr 21, 2020

Reviewed on Aug 14, 2017

View more reviews

New to Probability and Statistics? Start here.

Open new doors with Coursera Plus

Unlimited access to 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs - all included in your subscription

Learn more

Advance your career with an online degree

Earn a degree from world-class universities - 100% online

Explore degrees

Join over 3,400 global companies that choose Coursera for Business

Upskill your employees to excel in the digital economy

Learn more

Frequently asked questions

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.

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.

You will be eligible for a full refund until two weeks after your payment date, or (for courses that have just launched) until two weeks after the first session of the course begins, whichever is later. You cannot receive a refund once you’ve earned a Course Certificate, even if you complete the course within the two-week refund period. See our full refund policy.

Experimentation for Improvement

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Earn a career certificate

There are 6 modules in this course

Introduction

What's included

Analysis of experiments by hand

What's included

Using computer software to analyze experiments

What's included

Getting more information, with fewer experiments

What's included

Response surface methods (RSM) to optimize any system

What's included

Wrap-up and future directions

What's included

Instructor

Offered by

Recommended if you're interested in Probability and Statistics

Think Critically: Deductive Reasoning and Mental Models

Principles of Economics: Microeconomics - Down to Business

120 Quick Stata Tips

Mechanics: Motion, Forces, Energy and Gravity, from Particles to Planets

Why people choose Coursera for their career

Learner reviews

New to Probability and Statistics? Start here.

Open new doors with Coursera Plus

Advance your career with an online degree

Join over 3,400 global companies that choose Coursera for Business

Frequently asked questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?

What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?

What is the refund policy?

More questions