Preventing unpredictable faults (black swans)
Unpredictable faults may be due to specification or design
mistakes, implementation
errors etc.
Some of the unpredictable faults may be prevented by constraining the
system to operate in the
design scope. Event that might change the
situation away from the scope are rejected.
Limitations
- The nature of unpredictable faults is that sometimes we cannot reject them, because the design is not prepared to handle them. Therefore, only certain unpredictable faults can be prevented this way.
- Although the system
remains formally in the
design scope, it may be the case that actually, it is in an unknown situation, not formalized in the
system specifications, and not implemented thereof.
Updated on 17 Mar 2016.