Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a Six Sigma tool in the "Analyze" phase of DMAIC. The goal of an FMEA is to identify, categorize, and prioritize the failure modes of a process/project/or solution to a problem and decide when/which to mitigate.

How to Perform an FMEA

Abridged.

1. Brainstorm how a process/project/product may fail, using either historical occurrences or your imagination. Look at each of the individual parts that constitute the whole. Make a list of these failure modes.
2. Walk through the list of a failure modes & assign 3 scores to each:
   • "P" - Probability - how likely is the failure mode to occur?
   • "S" - Severity - if the failure mode occurred, how bad would it be?
   • "D" - Detectability - how easy is it to tell if the failure mode is occurring?
3. Consider the overall risk of each failure mode by taking "P"x"S", and consider "D".

Other Source

Failure mode and effects analysis - Wikipedia

Related Notes

Six Sigma

Pre-mortem

Plan for Failure

Don’t use “Absence of a Signal” as a Signal