Patent ID: 8412356

Claim:
A computerized method for estimating a design space of input factors and output responses for a physical process, comprising: (a) calculating, using a processor, for each input factor of a plurality of input factors for a physical process, a calculated range of input values within a corresponding experimented range of input values, wherein calculating is performed in parallel for the plurality of input factors and calculating comprises: predicting values of one or more output responses for the physical process based on a first range of input values for each input factor of the plurality of input factors to determine a first performance metric for each of the one or more output responses; and creating the calculated range of input values for each input factor of the plurality of input factors by adjusting the first range of input values based on a comparison of the first performance metric and a predetermined performance metric; (b) calculating, using the processor, a modified range of input values for each of the plurality of input factors, wherein calculating is performed for the plurality of input factors one at a time and calculating comprises, for each input factor of the plurality of input factors: selecting a second range of input values for the input factor based on the calculated range of input values; predicting values of the one or more output responses based on the second range of input values to determine a second performance metric for each of the one or more output responses; and creating the modified range of input values for the input factor by adjusting the second range of input values based on a comparison of the second performance metric and the predetermined performance metric; and (c) predicting, using the processor, a design space estimate based at least on the modified ranges of input values, wherein the modified ranges of input values each comprise a largest region of variability where criteria are fulfilled for one or more of the input factors.