Software Engineering

12.2.5.2  Design dependability
Software dependably can only be provided by extensive design evaluation of every 
failure mode that may be possible. This demands that every data processing action 
be examined to consider what conditions, stimuli, or user inputs could potentially 
cause the data processing action to result in a faulty outcome. This involves inci-
dents that may occur within the computing environment; prevent access to external 
systems or applications that are critical to the data processing action; or the receipt 
of faulty data being provided by an interfacing system or application.
The Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) performed during functional 
analysis and allocation (see Chapter 11) should provide a basis for determining how 
the software can be designed to be resilient to potential faults. There are two primary 
methods of ensuring software fault resilience: fault prevention and fault tolerance.
5 
See 
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/zainala/archive/2008/08/21/tips-for-improving-software-responsiveness. 
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