Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) – How to Analyze Risks for Better Software Quality & Satisfied Customers!

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a strategy for evaluating and mitigating potential dangers.

It can dramatically improve the Quality Assurance procedures and increase software quality when applied accurately. This article seeks to familiarize you with FMEA, a risk assessment method that can greatly improve the quality of software.

Failure Mode And Effects Analysis

FMEA is primarily employed by senior management or stakeholders. Normally, testers have limited access to this method. However, this trend is evolving, and if testers grasp this concept, it can immensely boost their thought process during writing test cases. Understanding the goals of stakeholders, grasping the business, and creating effective test scenarios that target riskier areas becomes more feasible using this approach.

• Apprehending the testing objectives of the application from the stakeholders’ view.
• Understanding the business operations.
• Generating higher-level test scenarios guided by business and management interests.
• Formulating effective test cases that provide thorough coverage of high-risk areas.
• Prioritizing test scenarios.
• Deciding on what to test and what to delay at any stage.
  

Background

Risk assessment is a vital component in Test Management. Consequently, the question becomes – What does Risk Analysis entail? And why is it crucial? To answer this, it is essential to understand – what is RISK?

See Also => Categories of Risks in Software Projects.

Risk, in its simplest form, refers to the potential of an unexpected or adverse event or outcome. If not adequately addressed or regulated, risks can result in inferior quality, unhappy consumers, and even business failure.

Risk has two main elements:

• Likelihood
• Consequence

Likelihood denotes the chance of a particular risk happening, while consequence implies the severity of the risk’s effect.

What Exactly Is Risk Analysis?

Risk Analysis is a procedure utilized to thoroughly analyze and examine recognized potential threats to ascertain their likelihood and impact. By assessing these characteristics, we can determine:

• What should we test first?
• Which areas require more testing?
• What can we postpone testing for now?

Risk Analysis can be conducted using several methods, primarily divided into two categories:

• Informal Approaches: These methods are based on experience, judgment, and intuition.
• Formal Approaches: These approaches involve identifying and evaluating risk attributes.

Failure Mode And Effects Analysis (FMEA): This is a recognized method of conducting Risk Analysis. In the subsequent sections, we will delve into FMEA and provide an illustration to demonstrate its usage.

FMEA is a methodical and quantitative tool, typically presented in a spreadsheet format, that aids in examining possible failures. To conduct a successful FMEA, it is crucial to involve the appropriate individuals, including representatives from all industry sectors, inclusive of clients.

Explanation

The FMEA process begins and progresses via brainstorming sessions. During these meetings, all participants identify all the elements, modules, dependencies, and limitations that could fail in a live environment, leading to flawed quality, operational reliability, and likely business loss.

FMEA not only identifies the potential loss level but also aims to determine the root causes of these failures. The FMEA measurement requires three attributes:

• Gravity of the Failure (S)
• Importance of the Failure (P)
• Probability of the Failure (L)

Each of these attributes is assigned a particular scale, as displayed below:

Gravity Scale:

Description	Class	Scale
Loss of data, hardware, or safety concerns	Critical	1
Functionality loss without a workaround	Significant	2
Functionality loss with a workaround	Moderate	3
Partial functionality loss	Minor	4
Aesthetic or trivial issues	Negligible	5

Importance Scale:

Description	Class	Scale
Complete loss of system value	Critical	1
Unacceptable reduction of system value	Significant	2
Potential decrease in system value	Moderate	3
Acceptable reduction in system value	Minor	4
Minimal decrease in system value	Negligible	5

Probability Scale:

Description	Class	Scale
Guaranteed to affect all users	Critical	1
Likely to affect some users	Very High	2
Possible effects on some users	High	3
Limited effects on a few users	Minor	4
Hardly imaginable in real usage	Negligible	5

Each attribute (Gravity, Importance, and Probability) is measured individually on a scale and then multiplied to compute the Risk Priority Number (RPN).

i.e. Risk Priority Number (RPN) = SPL

The RPN value helps us define the depth of the testing required. A lower RPN suggests a higher risk factor.

Now let’s examine an example to make this clearer:

Example of Failure Mode Effect Analysis

(This is a fictional example and exclusively for illustrative purposes. Authentic implementation and features may vary.)

Imagine a banking application with four functions:

• Function 1: Withdraw
• Function 2: Deposit
• Function 3: Home Loan
• Function 4: Fixed Deposits

A Risk Analysis group, composed of the Bank Manager, UAT Test Manager (who represents the end-users), Technical Architect, Test Architect, Network Administrator, DBA, and a Project Manager, assembles.

Following multiple brainstorming sessions, the group identifies these potential risks:

• Complex business logic within the calculation of interest rates for home loans.
• System failures when faced with 200 simultaneous users.
• The system’s incapacity to manage files larger than 6 MB.

Now, let’s calculate the Gravity, Importance, and Probability of the identified risks.

Gravity:

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Function Class Scale Complex business logic in calculating interest rates for home loans Very High 2 System failure with 200 concurrent users High 3 System’s inability to handle documents larger than 6 MB Very High 2

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