FMECA Definition

FMECA (Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis) is a systematic risk evaluation technique that identifies possible system failures, assesses their impacts, and classifies them according to their importance. The aim is to handle risks according to their order of influence on system performance, safety, and reliability before they actually do so.

FMECA takes conventional failure analysis one step further by including a criticality assessment that determines the severity and probability of every failure mode.

How FMECA works

The steps of the FMECA process are:

• Failure modes — the possible failures of a component or a procedure.
• Effects — the impact of each failure on the system, users, and stakeholders.
• Criticality — the ranking of each failure according to its risk level.

The systematic analysis offers teams the opportunity to tackle the most significant defects first.

FMECA in software development

FMECA in software projects is usually done at the beginning of the project, e.g., during requirements analysis and system design. Early detection of failure risks helps to build up more powerful architecture, safer processes, and more predictable system behavior.

FMECA leads to a reduction in development teams’ unexpected failures and hence boosts the overall system reliability of the long term.