The document surveys methods used for design for reliability (DFR) across management, design, and manufacturing categories. It provides a scoring system from 0-4 to indicate how often each method is used, from never to always. Some highly used methods across categories include goal setting, priority of quality improvement, documented design cycles, component testing, failure analysis, design reviews, and statistical process control. Ownership of quality and reliability goals is also assessed.

1. DFR Methods Survey 2014
Scoring: 4 = 100%, top priority, always done
3 = >75%, use normally, expected
2 = 25% - 75%, variable use
1 = <25%, only occasional use
0 = not done or discontinued
- = not visible, no comment
Management:
q Goal setting for organization
q Priority of quality & reliability improvement
q Management attention & follow up (goal ownership)
Design:
q Documented hardware design cycle
q Goal setting by product or module
q Priority of Q&R vs performance, cost, schedule
q Design for Reliability (DFR) training
q Preferred technology selection/standardization
q Component qualification testing
q OEM selection & testing to equal internal requirements
q Fault Tree Analysis/Reliability Block Diagrams (FTA/RBD)
q Failure/root cause analysis
q Statistically-designed engineering experiments
q Accelerated Stress/Life Testing (ALT)
q Design & derating rules
q Design reviews/design rule checking
q Finite Element Analysis (FEA) or simulations
q Failure rate estimation/prediction
q Thermal design & measurements
q Design tolerance analysis
q Failure Modes & Effects Analysis (FMEA)
q Environmental (design margin) testing
q Highly accelerated life testing (HALT)
q Physics of Failure analysis
q Lessons-learned database
q Design Defect Tracking (DDT)
q Ownership of quality & reliability goals
Manufacturing:
q Design for manufacturability (DFM)
q Priority of Q&R vs schedule & cost
q Quality training programs
q Statistical Process Control (SPC/SQC)
q Total Quality Management (TQM)
q Internal process audits (written reports)
q Vendor (& OEM) process audits
q Incoming inspection/sampling
q Component burn-in
q Assembly-level environmental stress screening (ESS)
q Product-level environmental stress screening (ESS)
q Defect Detection & Tracking (DD&T)
q Corrective Action Reports
q Ownership of quality & reliability goals