Statistical methods are extremely important in engineering, since they provide a means for
representing large amounts of data in a concise form that is easily interpreted and
understood.
A normal, or Gaussian, probability distribution is by far the most commonly employed;
however, in some cases, other distribution functions may have to be employed to adequately
represent the data.
The most significant advantage resulting from use of a probability distribution function in
engineering application is the ability to predict the occurrence of an event based on a
relatively small sample.