Goal-oriented (GO) methodology is a success-oriented method for complex system reliability analysis based on modeling the normal operating sequence of a system and all possible system states. Recently, GO method has been applied in reliability and safety analysis of a number of systems, spanning defense, transportation, and power systems. This chapter provides a new approach for reliability analysis of complex systems, first, by providing its development history, its engineering applications, and the future directions. Then, the basic theory of GO method is expounded. Finally, the comparison of GO method, fault tree analysis and Monte-Carlo simulation is discussed.Keywords: system reliability analysis, complex system, GO method, reliability model
IntroductionQuality and reliability are key attributes of economic success of a system because they result in an increase in productivity at low cost and vital for business growth and enhanced competitive position. The recent advances in electronics, computing, communication, control, and networking have resulted in integrated systems that are: (i) complex in structure, (ii) large in scope and scale, (iii) characterized by multimode operation, (iii) capable of working in varied working conditions, and (iv) hierarchically organized. The reliability of such complex systems is a critical factor of their fitness for their intended use and hence is vital for in design and manufacturing. Reliability analysis method of complex systems is conducive to prevent defects in the first place in all aspects when they do occur in operation, in order to improve their reliability and reduce their life-cycle cost.Fault tree analysis (FTA) and Monte-Carlo simulation (MCS) are now the standard reliability and safety analysis methods. Different from them, goal-oriented (GO) methodology [1] is a © 2017 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.success-oriented method for system reliability analysis based on modeling the normal operating sequence of a system and all possible system states. It is especially suitable for complex systems having time-sequence of operation, multiple states, and so on, and the quantitative analysis and the qualitative analysis of the GO method are conducted by the GO operation according to the GO model. The keys of the GO method are the GO model and the GO operation. Although the GO method was introduced in 1976 [1], it was largely unknown until recently. The GO method has become increasingly popular in recent years because of its advantages in terms of its ease of creating a model and of its representational and analysis power [2,3]. This chapter is an attempt at providing a basic theory of GO method in terms of GO model, GO operation, and comparison with FTA and MCS.
Development of GO methodThe major application o...