X-Ware Systems Reliability

Modern systems are a hybrid of hardware, software, and human elements or subsystem, with highly complex interactions and interdependencies (X-Ware). Never before in the history of engineered systems has the challenge of identifying and safeguarding against system vulnerabilities to failure been so formidable. While the need is clear, current reliability and safety engineering methods and tools are totally inadequate, as they tend to focus on either the hardware, or the software, or human function, and not designed to look at failures emerging from the complexity of interactions and interfaces of X-ware systems. A comprehensive approach requires methods for identifying interaction failure modes, and new design operational concepts to prevent or mitigate their effects. CRRE aims to develop the necessary methods and technologies to address this critical need.