Developing Rules for Failure Modes and Effects Analysis of Computer Software

Software FMEA is a means to determine whether any single failure in computer software can cause catastrophic system effects, and additionally identifies other possible consequences of unexpected software behavior. When performed at the code level, FMEA is a kind of implementation analysis that requires analysis rules to keep the job manageable. However, rules are also needed for analysis of software at any stage of its design. The main focus of this paper is on development of these rules to assure that different people working on this kind of analysis produce a consistent product while keeping things simple as possible.