Current state and prospects of R-packages for the design of experiments

Re-running an experiment is generally costly and in some cases impossible due to limited resources, so the design of an experiment plays a critical role in increasing the quality of experimental data. In this paper we describe the current state of the R-packages for the design of experiments through an exploratory data analysis of package downloads, package metadata, and the comparison of characteristics with other topics. We observe that experimental designs in practice appear to be sufficiently manufactured by a small number of packages and the development of experimental designs often occur in silos. We discuss also the interface designs of widely utilised R packages in the field of experimental design and discuss its future prospects to advance the field in practice.