A review of error propagation analysis in systems

Error propagation analysis in reliable systems has been studied widely. Unlike classical sensitivity analysis which investigates the range of system performance, the distribution function of system performance studies error propagation analysis. Thus, error propagation analysis is essentially a statistical analysis. This paper reviews and classifies current research articles in error propagation. An overview is presented of error propagation applied to various systems and models. A standard analysis procedure is also given. Finally, several conclusions are drawn. It is recommended that i) basic research on error propagation be carried out, ii) an efficient (least cost) method be developed to analyze large-size problems, and iii) human error be included in the system modeling. It is our opinion that error propagation analysis be treated as part of decision-making procedures in system analysis. Error propagation analysis is extremely important for expensive or rare-event systems. This report can benefit those who analyze these systems.