3. Conclusion

In this article, we have used surface treatment examples to present the use and benefits of experimental designs for finding an optimum in a given field of study, and of mixture designs. Of course, some designs have been completely ignored, for a variety of reasons:

• the need for extensive development ;

• applications still too limited...

However, we have tried to show that :

• experimental designs provide invaluable assistance in achieving a pre-established objective (optimization, quality, etc.), but also in doing so with the minimum number of trials and at the lowest experimental cost;

• experimental designs ensure continuity in the progressive management of a study by :

  • ...