Communicating operational reliability requirements to designers

Past experience has shown that new weapons systems in the field generally fall short of needed reliability characteristics. The author summarizes previous studies that have identified possible reasons for reliability shortfalls and proposes an additional cause, the inability to properly communicate the real user reliability concerns to designers. The reliability of new systems can be improved if the concerns of operators, maintainers, and logistics support personnel can be communicated to design and manufacturing personnel. One means to communicate these concerns is through the development of a comprehensive definition for failure that is related to the field effects that are inherent in the user's operational reliability characteristics stated in the operational requirements document and requirements correlation matrix.< >