2.3.4 FAILURE MODE ANALYSIS IN SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

The concept of failure mode analysis can be more productively applied than as a critique of the completed detail design. In fact, it can be effectively applied in the initial systems engineering analysis of the desired system requirements and functionality. This takes a little thought and may not be well received by failure analysis purists due to lack of hard failure data as is available for hardware components. However, it can be an effective tool in the systems engineer's bag of tricks.