Sequential testing of gradual changes in the drift of a stochastic process

In this paper, some sequential monitoring procedures are constructed and analyzed for detecting a “gradual” change in the drift parameter of a general stochastic process satisfying a certain (weak) invariance principle. It is shown that the tests can be constructed such that the “false alarm rate” attains a prescribed level (say) α and that the tests have “asymptotic power 1”. A more precise analysis of the procedures under the alternative proves that the stopping times, suitably normalized, have a standard normal limiting distribution. A few results from a small simulation study are also presented in order to give an idea of the finite sample behaviour of the suggested procedures.