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| The Scientific Method comprises four sequential phases - Analysis, Hypothesis, Synthesis and Validation - which are applied to a task iteratively and recursively to achieve the objective of the task. |
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| The objective of the analysis phase of the scientific method is to gain a thorough understanding of the components of the problem domain, leading to the formulation of a single specific and reasonable task objective. |
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| A problem statement is expressed as an interrogative sentence, a declarative sentence or an imperative sentence that summarizes a question, complaint or requirement, respectively. |
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| Every task has at least one goal to determine the response of the task unit to the application of the solution (or part of the solution), as expressed by an infinitive phrase. |
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| Hypothesis Phase Objective |
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| The objective of the hypothesis phase is to propose a solution to achieve the task objective, a set of goals and hypotheses for this solution, and the factors and performance metrics for testing the validity of the solution. |
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| A performance metric is a postulate that transforms the results of the task into measures of performance for drawing conclusions about the task objective. |
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| A research hypothesis (or simply an hypothesis) is a declarative sentence that asserts a desired, expected, or possible conclusion of a goal. |
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| An experiment acquires data to measure the performance of the solution under controlled conditions in a laboratory. |
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| A performance factor (or factor) is a condition or parameter of a task whose value is intentionally varied to measure its impact on the results of the task. |
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| A representation factor is a parameter or a condition whose values are selected uniformly from its domain and applied to all treatments to assure fair and equal representation of all values. |
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| Synthesis Phase Objective |
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| The objective of the synthesis phase of the scientific method is to implement the task method (solution and experiments) to accomplish the goals and validate the hypotheses of the task. |
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| An experiment treatment is a combination of one level or setting for every factor. |
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| An experiment trial is a complete set of treatments applied to a member of the task unit during the experiment. |
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| Validation Phase Objective |
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| The objective of the validation phase of the scientific method is to decide whether the objective of the task has been achieved, based on formal conclusions about its goals and hypotheses and a rigorous peer review of the task methodology. |
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-Describe Problem
-Set Performance Criteria
-Investigate Related Work
-State Objective |
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-Specify Solution
-Set Goals
-Define Factors
-Postulate Performance Metrics |
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-Implement Solution
-Design Experiments
-Conduct Experiments
-Reduce Results |
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-Compute Performance
-Draw Conclusions
-Prepare Documentation
-Solicit Peer Review |
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