Use this method to compare group standard deviations (or variances) to the root mean square error (or mean square error). This method assumes that your data is approximately normally distributed. To use this method, each group must have at least four observations. For details about the ANOM for Variances test, see Wludyka and Nelson (1997) and Nelson et al. (2005). For an example, see Example of an Analysis of Means for Variances Chart.

This method provides a robust test that compares the group means of the absolute deviations from the median (ADM) to the overall mean ADM. Use ANOM for Variances with Levene (ADM) if you suspect that your data is non-normal and cannot be transformed to normality. ANOM for Variances with Levene (ADM) is a nonparametric analog of the ANOM for Variances analysis. For details about the ANOM for Variances with Levene (ADM) test, see Levene (1960) or Brown and Forsythe (1974).