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Definition

Failure in general refers to the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective. It may be viewed as the opposite of success.

Criteria for Failure

The criteria for failure are heavily dependent on context of use, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. A situation considered to be a failure by one might be considered a success by another, particularly in cases of direct competition or a zero-sum game. As well, the degree of success or failure in a situation may be differently viewed by distinct observers or participants, such that a situation that one considers to be a failure, another might consider to be a success, a qualified success or an neutral situation.

It may also be difficult or impossible to ascertain whether a situation meets criteria for failure or success, due to ambiguous or ill-defined definition of those criteria. Finding useful and effective criteria, or heuristics, to judge the success or failure of a situation.

Common Usage

A context in which failure is frequently used is in formal grading of scholastic achievement. 'Failing a test' or being assigned a 'failing mark' indicates that a student has submitted work or received a mark below a minimum threshold of performance or quality required to continue studies in a subject.

Formal Technical Definition

Failure is defined in ISO/CD 10303-226 as the lack of ability of a component, equipment, sub system, or system to perform its intended function as designed. Failure may be the result of one or many faults.

See also

• Cascading failure
• Single point of failure
• Failure mode
• Failure rate
• Power outage
• Debugging
• Miserable failure
• Murphy's law

Other usages

• Failure is also a 1990s space rock band.

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