Software Failure Mode Effects Analysis

You can access the demo of the first FMEA Web Application and the source code is available. Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a systematic, proactive method of evaluating a process. An FMEA identifies the opportunities for failure, or "failure modes," in each step of the process. Each failure mode gets a numeric score that quantifies (a) likelihood that the failure will occur, (b) likelihood that the failure will not be detected, and (c) the amount of harm or damage the failure mode may cause to a person or to equipment. The product of these three scores is the Risk Priority Number (RPN) for that failure mode. The sum of the RPNs for the failure modes is the overall RPN for the process. As an organization works to improve a process, it can anticipate and compare the effects of proposed changes by calculating hypothetical RPNs of different scenarios. Just remember that the RPN is a measure for comparison within one process only; it is not a measure for comparing risk between processes or organizations.