an iterative and creative process, much like the design process, but with reversed roles of synthesis and analysis. See the article"Materials Selection for Failure Prevention "in this volume Knowing which approach to use is at least as important as knowing how to use it. This article describes some of he factors and conditions that might be considered when approaching a failure analysis problem. In any case, whichever approach is taken, it is always important to cultivate an open mind and to the temptation to reach a conclusion about the cause(s)of the failure before performing the analysis and evaluation. The science of critical thinking has a principle called the confirmation bias, which refers to the tendency to look only for what one expects to find: that is, "Ye shall find only what ye shall seek"(Ref 1). Humans have a general tendency to see what they expect to see or to perceive things according to preconceived expectations. As Mark Twain wrote, "To the man who wants to use a hammer badly, a lot of things look like nails that need hammering. If observation is limited to an expected outcome, helpful data may be overlooked. For example, one of the biggest mistakes that people make in failure analysis work is defining the investigation in binary terms of"was there a manufacturing defect or was the object abused? The professional analyst should not be confined to this small set of possible causes for the failure, because it may be difficult to become aware of the situation of not finding what he or she did not set out to find It is also important to appreciate the value of intuition and instinct. While the importance of observation and analysis can hardly be overemphasized, sometimes intuition can provide insights and a better appreciation of the big picture. For years, the great 19th-century Indian mathematician Ramanujan would, immediately upon awakening, write down theorems that had come to him in his dreams. many of these theorems remain unproven et useful to mathematicians and physicists today(Ref 2). Another example is the discovery of the structure of the benzene ring by F.A. Kekule. Many high-school science books report that during the period of time when he was trying to figure out how the carbon and hydrogen atoms were arranged within the molecule, he had a vision in a dream of intertwined serpents, each biting its own tail. Obviously, he and others went on to use more cientific methods to demonstrate the correctness of his theory. Likewise while any failure investigation must intuitive function in engineering and scientific work in genery orically, too little credit has been given to the stand or fall on the merits of the analytical work done, hi References cited in this section 1. D. Levy, Tools of Critical Thinking: Metathoughts for Psychology Allyn and Bacon, 1997 2. M. Kaku, Hyperspace, Oxford University Press, 1994 The Failure Analysis Process: An Overview Debbie Aliya, Aliya Analytica The Objectives of Failure Analysis The objective or purpose of a failure analysis project is often described to be preventing a recurrence of the failure. However, there are many different types of failure analysis projects. Where an injury lawsuit is involved, for example, it may be important to assign responsibility for an undesired event. There are other cases when there may never be a chance for a recurrence. For example, if the item that fails is unique, there may never be a repeat incident Another case in which the objective of the investigation may not be the prevention of recurrences is one involving a very minor failure of a low-value component. If there is no other damage, it may be difficult to justify a prevention-oriented project. It may be more economical to live with a certain level of failure than to devote resources to prevention. The work is still worthwhile, because if certain economic situations change, there is background information available to support a broader investigation, in a more efficient manner, at a later time. Also, the understanding gained may lead to an improved product that may be appropriate for particular market niche, for example, long- life light bulbsan iterative and creative process, much like the design process, but with reversed roles of synthesis and analysis. See the article “Materials Selection for Failure Prevention” in this Volume Knowing which approach to use is at least as important as knowing how to use it. This article describes some of the factors and conditions that might be considered when approaching a failure analysis problem. In any case, whichever approach is taken, it is always important to cultivate an open mind and to minimize the temptation to reach a conclusion about the cause(s) of the failure before performing the analysis and evaluation. The science of critical thinking has a principle called the confirmation bias, which refers to the tendency to look only for what one expects to find: that is, “Ye shall find only what ye shall seek” (Ref 1). Humans have a general tendency to see what they expect to see or to perceive things according to preconceived expectations. As Mark Twain wrote, “To the man who wants to use a hammer badly, a lot of things look like nails that need hammering.” If observation is limited to an expected outcome, helpful data may be overlooked. For example, one of the biggest mistakes that people make in failure analysis work is defining the investigation in binary terms of “was there a manufacturing defect or was the object abused?” The professional analyst should not be confined to this small set of possible causes for the failure, because it may be difficult to become aware of the situation of not finding what he or she did not set out to find. It is also important to appreciate the value of intuition and instinct. While the importance of observation and analysis can hardly be overemphasized, sometimes intuition can provide insights and a better appreciation of the “big picture.” For years, the great 19th-century Indian mathematician Ramanujan would, immediately upon awakening, write down theorems that had come to him in his dreams. Many of these theorems remain unproven yet useful to mathematicians and physicists today (Ref 2). Another example is the discovery of the structure of the benzene ring by F.A. Kekulé. Many high-school science books report that during the period of time when he was trying to figure out how the carbon and hydrogen atoms were arranged within the molecule, he had a vision in a dream of intertwined serpents, each biting its own tail. Obviously, he and others went on to use more scientific methods to demonstrate the correctness of his theory. Likewise, while any failure investigation must stand or fall on the merits of the analytical work done, historically, too little credit has been given to the intuitive function in engineering and scientific work in general. References cited in this section 1. D. Levy, Tools of Critical Thinking: Metathoughts for Psychology Allyn and Bacon, 1997 2. M. Kaku, Hyperspace, Oxford University Press, 1994 The Failure Analysis Process: An Overview Debbie Aliya, Aliya Analytical The Objectives of Failure Analysis The objective or purpose of a failure analysis project is often described to be preventing a recurrence of the failure. However, there are many different types of failure analysis projects. Where an injury lawsuit is involved, for example, it may be important to assign responsibility for an undesired event. There are other cases when there may never be a chance for a recurrence. For example, if the item that fails is unique, there may never be a repeat incident. Another case in which the objective of the investigation may not be the prevention of recurrences is one involving a very minor failure of a low-value component. If there is no other damage, it may be difficult to justify a prevention-oriented project. It may be more economical to live with a certain level of failure than to devote resources to prevention. The work is still worthwhile, because if certain economic situations change, there is background information available to support a broader investigation, in a more efficient manner, at a later time. Also, the understanding gained may lead to an improved product that may be appropriate for a particular market niche, for example, long-life light bulbs