Methods and Technologies for Mastering Uncertainty

Uncertainty affects all phases of the product life cycle of technical systems, from design and production to their usage, even beyond the phase boundaries. Its identification, analysis and representation are discussed in the previous chapter. Based on the gained knowledge, our specific approach on mastering uncertainty can be applied. These approaches follow common strategies that are described in the subsequent chapter, but require individual methods and technologies. In this chapter, first legal and technical aspects for mastering uncertainty are discussed. Then, techniques for product design of technical systems under uncertainty are presented. The propagation of uncertainty is analysed for particular examples of process chains. Finally, semi-active and active technical systems and their relation to uncertainty are discussed.