Person who helps a team with issues of teamwork, communication, and problem-solving. A facilitator should not contribute to the actual content of the team's project, focusing instead as an observer of the team's functioning as a group

Factorial design are generally employed in engineering and manufacturing experiments. It is appropriate when several factors are to be investigated at two or more levels and interaction of factors may be important. Also see Design of Experiments

A system or component that automatically places itself in a safe operational mode in the event of a failure

The inability of a system or component to perform its required functions within specified performance requirements. See: bug, crash, exception, fault

Determining the exact nature and location of a program error in order to fix the error, to identify and fix other similar errors, and to initiate corrective action to prevent future occurrences of this type of error. Contrast with debugging

A procedure to determine which malfunction symptoms appear immediately before or after a failure of a critical parameter in a system. After all the possible causes are listed for each symptom, the product is designed to eliminate the problems

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis is systematized technique which identifies and ranks the potential failure modes of a design or manufacturing process in order to prioritize improvement actions

A procedure that is performed after a failure mode effects analysis to classify each potential failure effect according to its severity and probability of occurrence

An incorrect step, process, or data definition in a computer program which causes the program to perform in an unintended or unanticipated manner. See: anomaly, bug, defect, error, exception

The identification and analysis of conditions and factors which cause or contribute to the occurrence of a defined undesirable event, usually one which significantly affects system performance, economy, safety or other required characteristics

A determination that a process, design, procedure, or plan can be successfully accomplished in the required time frame

Analysis of the known or anticipated need for a product, system, or component to assess the degree to which the requirements, designs, or plans can be implemented

(unit-based)--the number of units that pass the last step in a series of steps in a process compared to the number of units the entire process started with

A technique for modeling a complex structure. When the mathematical model is subjected to known loads, the displacement of the structure may be determined

Another name for a cause & effect diagram, derived from the original shape of the diagram as used by its creator, Kaoru Ishikawa

A term used to indicate that a product or service fits the customer’s defined purpose for that product or service

A cost that does not vary with the amount or degree of production. The costs that remain if an activity or process stops

Experimental treatments are specifically selected by the researcher. Conclusions only apply to the factor levels considered in the analysis. Inferences are restricted to the experimental levels

2) (ISO) A graphical representation in which symbols are used to represent such things as operations, data, flow direction, and equipment, for the definition, analysis, or solution of a problem. (2) (IEEE) A control flow diagram in which suitably annotated geometrical figures are used to represent operations, data, or equipment, and arrows are used to indicate the sequential flow from one to another. Syn: flow diagram. See: block diagram, box diagram, bubble chart, graph, input-process-output chart, structure chart.

Failure Mode Effects Analysis: An analytical technique used to assure that potential failure modes and associated causes have been considered and addressed

A technique for analyzing the forces that aid or hinder an organization in reaching an objective. An arrow pointing to an objective is drawn down the middle of a piece of paper. The factors that will aid the objective’s achievement, called the driving forces, are listed on the left side of the arrow. The factors that will hinder its achievement, called the restraining forces, are listed on the right side of the arrow

The test, inspection, or analytical process by which a group of configuration items comprising a system is verified to have met specific contractual performance requirements. Contrast with code review, design review, requirements review, test readiness review

An organization of data, usually in a chart, which depicts how often an different events occur. A histogram is one common type of frequency distribution, and a frequency polygon is another

(1) (ISO) A mathematical entity whose value, namely, the value of the dependent variable, depends in a specified manner on the values of one or more independent variables, with not more than one value of the dependent variable corresponding to each permissible combination of values from the respective ranges of the independent variables. (2) A specific purpose of an entity, or its characteristic action. 

Verifies that each safety-critical software requirement is covered and that an appropriate criticality level is assigned to each software element

An audit conducted to verify that the development of a configuration item has been completed satisfactorily, that the item has achieved the performance and functional characteristics specified in the functional or allocated configuration identification, and that its operational and support documents are complete and satisfactory. See: physical configuration audit

(1) The process of defining the working relationships among the components of a system. See: architectural design. (2) The result of the process in (1)

A technique for analyzing and evaluating alternative information system investments and management practices. Within DoD, FEA is a business case. Also, a document that contains a fully justified proposed improvement project with all supporting data

A structured approach by all or part of an enterprise to improve the value of its products and services while reducing resource requirements. Also referred to as business process improvement (BPI), business process redesign, and business reengineering

Functional Verification is testing to ensure the part conforms to all customer and supplier engineering performance and material requirements. Functional verification (to applicable customer engineering material and performance standards) may be required by some customers annually unless another frequency is established in a customer approval control plan. Results shall be available for customer review upon request

An experiment that demonstrates the effects of tampering. Marbles are dropped through a funnel in an attempt to hit a flat-surfaced target below. The experiment shows that adjusting a stable process to compensate for an undesirable result or an extraordinarily good result will produce output that is worse than if the process had been left alone