Risk-based design of experiments

Risk-based design of experiments (RB-DoE) integrates formal risk assessment — typically using tools such as FMEA or fault tree analysis — with classical experimental design to prioritize which process or product factors are most critical to investigate. Rather than treating all candidate factors equally, this approach ranks factors by their risk priority number or likelihood of affecting quality, safety, or reliability, then allocates experimental runs preferentially to high-risk factors. It is widely used in pharmaceutical development, chemical process engineering, and manufacturing quality management.