Fault-tree analysis

Fault-tree analysis was discussed in Chapter 2, Vulnerabilities, Attacks, and Countermeasures, and was introduced by Bell Labs. The American Society for Quality (ASQ) describes a fault-tree analysis as a deductive procedure used to determine the various combinations of hardware and software failures and human errors that could cause undesired events at the system level. 

Read more at the following link: http://asq.org/quality-progress/2002/03/problem-solving/what-is-a-fault-tree-analysis.html.

A fault-tree analysis can aid in determining potential causes of system failure.