An experimental design strategy for designing robust systems using discrete-event simulation

Well designed experiments can dramatically improve the statistical accuracy of simula tion output data and facilitate the statistical analysis. In this paper we propose an experimental design strategy for designing robust systems using discrete-event simulation. The proposed strategy is motivated by Genichi Taguchi's strategy for improving product and process quality in manufacturing. Robust systems are systems that not only satisfy performance criteria, but also are not sensitive to uncontrollable environmental conditions or noise in the system's environment. We demonstrate the proposed experimental design strategy with a jobshop example and discuss the potential benefits of employing such a strategy for designing robust systems in general.