Engineering index: the quantification of uncertain margins and reliabilities with sparse data

The Engineering Index (EI) provides a measure of goodness for engineered systems, subsystems, components, and product functions. The EI supports certification and planning endeavors by assessing both a product´s current state as well as inferring how a system potentially changes over time relative to their requirements. This work will show how Bayes Theorem can be used to accomplish this inference. The inference available through El allows decision makers to plan for, and possibly mitigate, problems ahead of a crisis by estimating how a product´s changes impacts system performance.