Sensitivity and Worst-case Analyses

Sensitivity analysis repeats runs while perturbing a single parameter for each step. This allows the sensitivity to that parameter of any number of measurements to be evaluated. This makes it possible to identify components and parameters that may require a tight tolerance to maintain a particular specification, or in some cases identify instabilities in the design.

Worst-case analysis attempts to find the combination of component and parameter variances which will lead to the worst possible result. It assigns each component or parameter with a value that is either at the positive extreme or the negative extreme. The decision as to which to use is obtained from the results of a prior sensitivity analysis using the sign of each sensitivity value.