A couple of the design assessments typically performed by Reliability Engineering is the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, or “FMEA” and the Failure Modes Effects and Criticality Analysis, or “FMECA”. The material difference between the two analyses is that the FMECA assessment includes the defining of the “criticality” or “severity” of the failure modes in time to provide feedback for improving the design. While this is just a very basic introduction to these analyses, the important point to realize is that the performing of a FMEA or a FMECA can be rather extensive for large or complex designs.