This SAE Aerospace Information Report (AIR) addresses the following: a. perceptions which inhibit the introduction of probabilistic methods; b. technical limitations of probalistic methods; and c. recommendations to help promote the use of probabilistic methods.

The document does not contain technical details of probabilistic methods, applications or benchmarking of specific approaches. These subjects are covered in other AIRs, referenced in Section 2 and prepared by the Probabilistic Methods Committee of the G-11 Reliability, Maintainability, Supportability and Logistics (RMSL) Division of SAE.

The purpose of this document is to identify the perceptions which inhibit the introduction of probabilistic methods, and the technical limitations which might preclude or limit their use in certain applications. Each perception and limitation is discussed in detail to give the reader a thorough understanding of the relevant issues. Some examples are given of the benefits of using probabilistic methods; these also help to answer some of the identified concerns.