Lessons from Sudoku

Abstract

Abstract Failure analysis requires a working knowledge of physics, technology, materials, manufacturing practices, analytical techniques, and more. It is difficult to imagine what failure analysis would be like if all the laws of physics were perfectly apparent and all the challenges of sample preparation and testing were removed. Eliminating those considerations, failure analysis would be more like Sudoku. Sudoku is a simple number puzzle enjoyed by both children and adults. The simplicity of Sudoku compared to failure analysis is the point. Although Sudoku is starkly simple, the process is challenging to the best of us. Good and bad problem-solving practices are clearly exposed by the experience of solving a few Sudoku puzzles. Some insights that are brilliantly clear in Sudoku are equally true in failure analysis.