Abstract |
The two most intensive steps in the Data Quality Objectives Process are Step 6: Specify Tolerable Limits on Decision Errors and Step 7: Optimize the Design. During Step 7, the entire set of DQO outputs is incorporated into a sampling design. If the DQO constraints are not feasible, it is necessary to iterate through one or more of the earlier steps of the DQO Process to identify a sampling design that will meet the budget and generate data that are adequate for the decision. This iteration can be time-consuming and costly. Therefore, the Decision Error Feasibility Trials (DEFT) software was developed to reduce the need for this iteration before implementing the final step of the DQO Process. The DEFT software allows a decision maker or member of the DQO planning team to quickly generate cost information about several simple sampling designs based on the DQO constraints. Through this process, the planning team can evaluate whether these constraints are appropriate or feasibile before the sampling analysis design team begins developing a final sampling design in the last step of the DQO process. |