217Plus is a methodology and a software tool that was developed by the RIAC to aid in the assessment of system reliability. It represents the next generation of the PRISM software tool initially released in 1999. The original software contained six embedded models to estimate the failure rate of various components when exposed to a specific set of stresses that are defined by the user. The 217Plus contains twelve embedded component models. Until the release of this handbook, the equations comprising the component reliability prediction models were not available in printed form. As such, a user of the old software tool could not see the exact equations that comprised the models. It is always advantageous for analysts to be able to review details of the models, so that reliability prediction results can be better interpreted and supported through mutual practitioner, management and customer understanding. The RIAC, therefore, developed and published this handbook to make available the equations and model parameters that form the basis of the 217Plus methodology.

The intent of this book is to provide guidance on modeling techniques that can be used to quantify the reliability of a product or system. In this context, reliability modeling is the process of constructing a mathematical model that is used to estimate the reliability characteristics of a product. There are many ways in which this can be accomplished, depending on the product or system and the type of information that is available, or practical to obtain. This book reviews possible approaches, summarizes their advantages and disadvantages, and provides guidance on selecting a methodology based on the specific goals and constraints of the analyst. While this book will not discuss the use of specific published methodologies, in cases where examples are provided, tools and methodologies with which the author has personal experience in their development are used, such as life modeling, NPRD, MIL-HDBK-217 and the RIAC 217Plus--Introduction.

The main reason for the premature breakdown of today's electronic products (computers, cars, tools, appliances, etc.) is the failure of the components used to build these products. Today professionals are looking for effective ways to minimize the degradation of electronic components to help ensure longer-lasting, more technically sound products and systems. This practical book offers engineers specific guidance on how to design more reliable components and build more reliable electronic systems. Professionals learn how to optimize a virtual component prototype, accurately monitor product reliability during the entire production process, and add the burn-in and selection procedures that are the most appropriate for the intended applications. Moreover, the book helps system designers ensure that all components are correctly applied, margins are adequate, wear-out failure modes are prevented during the expected duration of life, and system interfaces cannot lead to failure.

A high percentage of defense systems fail to meet their reliability requirements. This is a serious problem for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), as well as the nation. Those systems are not only less likely to successfully carry out their intended missions, but they also could endanger the lives of the operators. Furthermore, reliability failures discovered after deployment can result in costly and strategic delays and the need for expensive redesign, which often limits the tactical situations in which the system can be used. Finally, systems that fail to meet their reliability requirements are much more likely to need additional scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and to need more spare parts and possibly replacement systems, all of which can substantially increase the life-cycle costs of a system. Beginning in 2008, DOD undertook a concerted effort to raise the priority of reliability through greater use of design for reliability techniques, reliability growth testing, and formal reliability growth modeling, by both the contractors and DOD units. To this end, handbooks, guidances, and formal memoranda were revised or newly issued to reduce the frequency of reliability deficiencies for defense systems in operational testing and the effects of those deficiencies. "Reliability Growth" evaluates these recent changes and, more generally, assesses how current DOD principles and practices could be modified to increase the likelihood that defense systems will satisfy their reliability requirements. This report examines changes to the reliability requirements for proposed systems; defines modern design and testing for reliability; discusses the contractor's role in reliability testing; and summarizes the current state of formal reliability growth modeling. The recommendations of "Reliability Growth" will improve the reliability of defense systems and protect the health of the valuable personnel who operate them.

“Reliability and Risk Issues in Large Scale Safety-critical Digital Control Systems” provides a comprehensive coverage of reliability issues and their corresponding countermeasures in the field of large-scale digital control systems, from the hardware and software in digital systems to the human operators who supervise the overall process of large-scale systems. Unlike other books which examine theories and issues in individual fields, this book reviews important problems and countermeasures across the fields of software reliability, software verification and validation, digital systems, human factors engineering and human reliability analysis. Divided into four sections dealing with software reliability, digital system reliability, human reliability and human operators in large-scale digital systems, the book offers insights from professional researchers in each specialized field in a diverse yet unified approach.