title: Integrating software into PRA: a software-related failure mode taxonomy.
abstract: Probabilistic risk assessment is a methodology to assess the probability of failure or success of a mission. Results provided by the risk assessment methodology are used to make decisions concerning choice of upgrades, scheduling of maintenance, decision to launch, etc. However, current PRA neglects the contribution of software to the risk of failure of the mission. Our research has developed a methodology to account for the impact of software to system failure. This article focuses on an element of the approach: a comprehensive taxonomy of software-related failure modes. Application of the taxonomy is discussed in this article. A validation of the taxonomy and conclusions drawn from this validation effort are described. Future research is also summarized.
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland, Center for Reliability in Engineering, College Park, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Smidts