Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A diagnostic computer system for determining a cause of an event in a product or process, comprising:a first measurement system for indicating the event in the product or process;a display for displaying a schematic of the product or process;a processor for:selecting, from an energy function model, a first energy function from a plurality of energy functions of the product or process, the first energy function associated with a particular function describing an action designed to be performed in the operation of the product or process, wherein the first energy function describes how the particular function uses energy during operation;identifying, for the first energy function, a plurality of energy paths within the product or process;displaying, on the schematic, the first energy function and a representation of the plurality of energy paths with respect to a displayed “how” direction, an opposing “why” direction, and a perpendicular “when” direction corresponding to dependencies between the plurality of energy functions; andidentifying, based on the first energy function and the dependencies, a second measurement system for measuring a first energy to detect a contrast between how the product or process is actually performing and how the product or process is intended to perform, wherein the second measurement system is different than the first measurement system that indicated the event in the product or process;a user interface for accepting input from a user and for transmitting the input to the processor over a communications medium, wherein the processor responds to the input to select from among the plurality of energy paths, the first energy for measurement;the second measurement system comprising a sensor system operatively coupled to the processor for generating a plurality of measurements of the selected first energy; anda storage device operatively coupled to the processor for storing the plurality of generated measurements,wherein the diagnostic computer system conducts a progressive search on the contrast to identify a feature or property of the product or process responsible for causing the event. 2. The diagnostic computer system of claim 1, wherein the event comprises a malfunction event. 3. The diagnostic computer system of claim 1, wherein the display further presents graphic representations of the plurality of generated measurements. 4. The diagnostic computer system of claim 1, wherein the processor limits the schematic to the narrowest scope known to contain the root cause of the event. 5. The diagnostic computer system of claim 1, wherein the first energy function comprises a function for directing energy. 6. The diagnostic computer system of claim 1, wherein the first energy function comprises a function for transmitting energy. 7. The diagnostic computer system of claim 1, wherein the first energy function comprises a function for converting energy. 8. The diagnostic computer system of claim 1, wherein the first energy function comprises a function for containing energy. 9. The diagnostic computer system of claim 1, wherein at least one energy path of the plurality of energy paths comprises an input energy path corresponding to energy used to achieve the detected first energy function. 10. The diagnostic computer system of claim 1, wherein at least one energy path of the plurality of energy paths comprises an output energy path corresponding to the performance of useful work. 11. The diagnostic computer system of claim 1, wherein at least one energy path of the plurality of energy paths comprises a waste energy path corresponding to energy loss. 12. The diagnostic computer system of claim 1, wherein at least one energy path of the plurality of energy paths comprises an environmental energy path. 13. The diagnostic computer system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of generated measurements comprises direct measurements of the selected first energy. 14. The diagnostic computer system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of generated measurements comprises indirect measurements of the selected first energy through at least one of its component factors. 15. The diagnostic computer system of claim 1, wherein the processor selects, for measurement, a second energy from the plurality of energy paths if no contrast is detected using the plurality of measurements for the selected first energy. 16. The diagnostic computer system of claim 1, wherein the processor controls the identified feature or property to prevent a future occurrence of the event. 17. The diagnostic computer system of claim 2, wherein the processor detects the contrast between how the product or process is actually performing and how the product or process is intended to perform by generating a plurality of energy measurements for a second product or process that is not experiencing a malfunction event. 18. The diagnostic computer system of claim 2, wherein the product or process comprises a prototype product or process. 19. The diagnostic computer system of claim 18, wherein the identified feature or property corresponds to a design under consideration for which a contrast in the direct measurement of the malfunction event is not detected. 20. The diagnostic computer system of claim 1, wherein the product or process comprises a production product or process. 21. A diagnostic computer system for identifying evidence of deviation from a specification for a product or process, comprising:a first measurement system for signaling the deviation from the specification in the product or process;a display for displaying a schematic of the product or process;a processor for:selecting, from an energy function model, a first energy function from a plurality of energy functions of the product or process, the first energy function associated with a particular function describing an action designed to be performed in the operation of the product or process, wherein the first energy function describes how the particular function uses energy during operation;identifying, for the first energy function, a plurality of energy paths within the product or process;displaying, on the schematic, the first energy function and a representation of the plurality of energy paths with respect to a displayed “how” direction, an opposing “why” direction, and a perpendicular “when” direction corresponding to dependencies between the plurality of energy functions; andidentifying, based on the first energy function and the dependencies, a second measurement system for measuring a first energy to detect a contrast between how the product or process is actually performing and how the product or process is intended to perform, wherein the second measurement system is different than the first measurement system that signaled the deviation in the specification in the product or process;a user interface for accepting input from a user, wherein the processor responds to the input to select from among the plurality of energy paths, the first energy for measurement;the second measurement system comprising a sensor system operatively coupled to the processor for generating a plurality of measurements of the selected first energy; anda storage device operatively coupled to the processor for storing the plurality of generated measurements,wherein the processor compares the plurality of generated measurements to a respective target range of values and transmits, based on the comparison, a signal indicative of an alert condition for the deviation. 22. The system of claim 21, wherein the processor limits the schematic to the narrowest scope known to contain the root cause of the event. 23. The system of claim 21, wherein the product or process comprises a prototype product or process. 24. The system of claim 21, wherein the product or process comprises a production product or process. 25. A diagnostic computer system for ascertaining the reliability of a product or process by analyzing a plurality of samples of a given product or process that have been exposed to an environmental stress, comprising:a display for displaying a schematic of the product or process;a processor for:selecting, from an energy function model, a first energy function from a plurality of energy functions of the product or process, the first energy function associated with a particular function describing an action designed to be performed in the operation of the product or process, wherein the first energy function describes how the particular function uses energy during operation;identifying, for the first energy function, a plurality of energy paths within the product or process;displaying, on the schematic, the first energy function and a representation of the plurality of energy paths with respect to a displayed “how” direction, an opposing “why” direction, and a perpendicular “when” direction corresponding to dependencies between the plurality of energy functions; andidentifying, based on the first energy function and the dependencies, a measurement system for measuring a first energy to detect a contrast between how the product or process is actually performing and how the product or process is intended to perform;a user interface for accepting input from a user, wherein the processor responds to the input to select from among the plurality of energy paths, the first energy for measurement;the identified measurement system comprising a sensor system operatively coupled to the processor for generating a plurality of measurements of the selected first energy; anda storage device operatively coupled to the processor for storing the plurality of generated measurements,wherein the processor:compares the plurality of generated measurements of the plurality of exposed samples to identify the contrast;conducts a progressive search on the contrast to identify a feature or property of the plurality of samples that can be used to control the energy function that is not being achieved;compares the plurality of generated measurements to a plurality of energy measurements of an unstressed product or process; andstores, based on the comparison, a data value indicative of the useable life of a similar unstressed product or process. 26. The system of claim 25, wherein the plurality of samples are exposed to an environmental stress through a series of tests. 27. The system of claim 25, wherein the plurality of samples are exposed to an environmental stress through actual field use. 28. The system of claim 25, wherein the processor limits the schematic to the narrowest scope known to contain the root cause of the event. 29. The system of claim 25, wherein the process further selects, for measurement, a second energy from the plurality of energy paths if no contrast is detected using the plurality of measurements for the selected first energy. 30. The system of claim 25, wherein the processor controls the identified feature or property to prevent a future occurrence of the event. 31. The system of claim 25, wherein the product or process comprises a prototype product or process. 32. The system of claim 25, wherein the product or process comprises a production product or process.