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Requs AI Training Series

How to run an effective software FMEA — not just a checkbox one

See real examples of effective and ineffective software FMEA, and learn how to jump-start yours with the Common Defect Enumeration — tagged directly to system hazards.

software FMEA training effective software failure modes and effects analysis
1 Day
Virtual, self-guided — work through it at your own pace
Prerequisite Required
The Most Common Edge Cases class must be completed first
Real Examples
See effective and ineffective software FMEA side by side
01 — Authority

Our founder is the global leader in software FMEA

Standards Body

IEEE 1633 Leadership

Chair of the 2026 IEEE 1633 working group — the governing standard for software reliability engineering.

Continual lessons learned applied to the world's largest defect density benchmarking study

Decades of Trending Data

While others fail to keep their model factors current with technology - we're on our 8th major revision since 1993.

World's largest database of software failures analyzed by root cause

CDE Taxonomy inventor

From it, we created the Common Defect Enumeration, the primary taxonomy currently adopted and cited across DOW technical frameworks.

02 — The Class

Most software FMEAs are a checkbox exercise. This is how to make yours count.

A software FMEA that starts from a blank page usually ends up as a compliance artifact — filled out, filed away, and never actually connected to the hazards it was supposed to catch. This class teaches how to jump-start the FMEA with the Common Defect Enumeration, tag it directly to system hazards, and use it as a real software safety hazards analysis.

This class pairs naturally with Requs AI Software FMEA — but doesn't require owning it. It's built to be useful on its own.

Prerequisite Required This class requires completing The Most Common Edge Cases first — the failure modes covered there are exactly what this class teaches you to put into an FMEA.
Capability
Without this training
With this training
Starting the FMEA
A blank page — brainstorm failure modes from memory
Jump-started with the Common Defect Enumeration
Connecting failure modes to hazards
A disconnected list of failure modes with no clear hazard tie-in
The CDE tagged directly to system hazards
Safety hazard analysis
FMEA and fault tree analysis run as separate, disconnected exercises
The 6D CDE FMEA used directly as a software safety hazards analysis, paired with fault tree analysis
Standards alignment
Not tied to any recognized standard
Maps directly to IEEE 1633 clause 5.2.2
03 — Curriculum

What the class covers

Five modules, covered in a single self-guided day.

§1Effective vs Ineffective

Examples of effective and ineffective software FMEA

What You'll Learn

Real, side-by-side examples of software FMEAs that actually catch failure modes, and ones that look complete but don't — and how to tell the difference at a glance.

Why It Matters

A completed FMEA template isn't the same as an effective one. This module is the calibration the rest of the class builds on.

§2Jump-Start with CDE

How to use the Common Defect Enumeration to jump-start the Software FMEA

What You'll Learn

How to start a software FMEA from the Common Defect Enumeration instead of a blank page — turning a brainstorm into a structured review of known failure modes.

Why It Matters

Starting from a validated list of root causes is faster and more complete than starting from memory, no matter how experienced the team is.

Software FMEA training diagram of the 7-step 6D common defect enumeration software failure modes and effects analysis process

The 7-step 6D CDE Software FMEA process — starting from causal design elements (steps 2-3) and working forward through failure analysis, risk analysis, and optimization to a tracked critical items list (steps 4-7).

§3Tagging Hazards

How to tag the Common Defect Enumeration to system hazards

What You'll Learn

How to connect each entry in the Common Defect Enumeration to the specific system hazard it can produce, so the FMEA traces all the way from root cause to consequence.

Why It Matters

A failure mode that isn't tied to a hazard doesn't tell anyone why it matters. Tagging is what makes the FMEA actionable instead of just descriptive.

§4Safety Hazards Analysis

How to use the 6D CDE FMEA as a software safety hazards analysis

What You'll Learn

How to run the 6D CDE FMEA as a bottom-up software safety hazards analysis, and how it pairs with software fault tree analysis (FTA) — the top-down technique that starts from a known hazard and works backward to root causes.

Why It Matters

Bottom-up and top-down analysis catch different blind spots. See STPA vs. the 6D CDE Software FMEA for a full comparison of the two directions.

§5IEEE 1633

How to navigate IEEE 1633 clause 5.2.2

What You'll Learn

A walkthrough of IEEE 1633 clause 5.2.2 — what it actually requires for software FMEA, and how to demonstrate compliance with it.

Why It Matters

Knowing the clause by number isn't the same as knowing how to satisfy it. This module closes that gap.

04 — Class Details

Format, duration, and prerequisites

Duration

1 Day

Delivered as a single day of self-guided instruction.

Format

Virtual, Self-Guided

Work through the material on your own schedule, at your own pace.

Prerequisites

The Most Common Edge Cases

Required before taking this class. Requs AI Software FMEA itself is recommended but not required to own.

Run a software FMEA that actually catches something.

Register for the class, or schedule a demonstration of Requs AI Software FMEA.