Three papers submitted for publication comprise this thesis. Each addresses a specific aspect of developing a functionality-centric approach to risk analysis in early software development - the Software Function-Failure Design Method (SWFFDM). This method is adapted from the electromechanical design domain for which it was developed and applied to software. It is leveraged to perform a non-subjective, early risk analysis using historical failure data and can be executed without a team of experts --Abstract, page iv
