Maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) is a statistical method used to estimate the parameters of a probability distribution by maximizing a likelihood function, so that under the assumed statistical model the observed data is most probable. MLE is particularly useful in reliability testing and estimation as it allows engineers and statisticians to make informed predictions about system performance based on sample data. This technique relies on deriving the likelihood function for given data and then optimizing it to find the parameter values that yield the highest probability of observing the data.
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