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Marcus Blosch: Marcus Blosch is IT Consultant (Research Fellow) at the Technology and Organisations Research Group, Portsmouth Business School, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK.
Jiju Antony: Jiju Antony is Senior Teaching Fellow, Warwick Manufacturing Group, International Manufacturing Centre, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
Introduction
Experimental design (ED) is a powerful technique which enables the effects of several process or system variables to be studied or investigated simultaneously and efficiently leading to an increased understanding of the system (Montgomery, 1991). It is a direct replacement of traditional "one variable at a time" approach to experimentation, where we vary only one variable at a time, keeping all other variables in the experiment constant. The fundamental difference between the classical approach of experimental design and the traditional approach is that the latter would not allow one to study the interactions among the key variables. In this paper, the authors demonstrate an application of ED in identifying the key variables which cause risk in the Royal Navy's manpower planning system. Though many people are familiar with the word "risk", the word itself can be a bit ambiguous. According to Rowe, risk is defined as "the potential for unwanted consequences of an event or activity" (Rowe, 1977). As businesses become more intricate and change more rapid, the so-called "gut feel" approach to risk management may no longer be adequate. It is important to identify the key sources of risk before it is managed. However, a thorough identification of key sources of risk depends upon a greater understanding of the system. The application of ED provides a systematic and positive approach to identify the key sources of risk in the Royal Navy's manpower planning system.
Experimental design and its applications in the service industry
ED has been widely accepted in both European and US manufacturing companies over the last 15 years for improving product and process quality. There appear to be very few case studies which have been carried out in ED for improving a service-based process. Some noticeable reasons are:
- service process performance is difficult to measure with accuracy;
- service process performance depends a great deal on the behaviour of the human beings involved in delivering it; and
- difficulties exist in the selection of appropriate quality characteristics...