| A | B |
|---|
| Assembly | Consisting of individual parts fitted together to create a final product |
| Case Study | A broad-based analysis of an engineering problem. |
| Component | A single device or part in an assembly |
| Component Relational Sketch | A pictogram showing the relationship of how the components react together in a system. |
| Critical Component | A component in a system that, if it fails, renders the entire system useless. In reliability studies, Critical Components are the focus of improvement efforts. |
| Ethics | a. a set of moral principles or values b. a theory or system of moral values <the present-day materialistic ethic> c. plural but singular or plural in construction the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group <professional ethics> d. a guiding philosophy. |
| Failure | A fracturing or otherwise not performing due to stress or outside events. |
| Liability | Having a legal responsibility for the failure of a product |
| Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) | The average time of operation before a device is likely to fail. This is a statistical value based on testing of representative samples of some product. |
| Probability | The system of mathematics that assigns odds or the chances of an event occurring given certain parameters. |
| Redundant | An additional part or subsystem that is added to a system to increase the overall system reliability. Redundant components serve their function in parallel; as long as any one redundant component is functional, the entire system still functions as designed. |
| Reliability | The probability of satisfactory operation of the product in a given environment over a specified time interval. |
