Sequential Probability Ratio Test (SPRT), which is a statistic that monitors accumulating evidence about deviations, and can at any time be compared with simple thresholds – as soon as one of these thresholds is crossed, then an alert is triggered and the production line is investigated.fn8 Such techniques led to more efficient industrial processes, and were later adapted for use in so-called sequential clinical trials in which accumulated results are repeatedly monitored to see if a threshold that indicates a beneficial treatment has been crossed.
