Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) in Power BI
A Power BI fault tree visual that draws how a top event can happen, straight from the rows in your report. Gates, events and transfers are laid out for you in IEC 61025:2006 symbols, checked against the method as you build, and redrawn whenever a slicer changes the data.
Part of Ataytis Assurance, with all six analysis modes in one visual. 30-day free trial, licensed and billed through Microsoft Marketplace.
Every gate you need
AND, OR, exclusive OR, NOT, NAND, NOR, inhibit, priority AND, sequential, spare and voting gates, with FDEP and priority OR under Custom.
Drawn to the standard
IEC 61025:2006 by default, with the Traditional / NUREG-0492 style and a Custom look one setting away.
Large trees, split cleanly
Transfer in and transfer out symbols continue a branch in another diagram, and one click opens the tree they point to.
About the method
What is fault tree analysis?
Fault tree analysis (FTA) is a top-down method that starts from an undesired event, the top event, and works back through logic gates to the combinations of failures and conditions that could cause it. It is used to understand how a system, process or operation can fail, identify critical combinations of causes, and support reliability, safety and root cause work. It is also one of the risk assessment techniques in IEC 31010:2019.
Also known as
- FTA
- Fault tree
- Fault tree diagram
Common uses include
- Reliability analysis
- System safety
- Risk assessment
- Failure analysis
- Root cause analysis
- Dependability & availability
Fault tree analysis can be used across industries wherever an unwanted event needs to be traced back to the combinations of causes behind it.
Built from the table you already keep
Each row names a node and its parent. Put a Node ID, a Parent ID and a Node Type in the visual and the tree draws itself, top to bottom, with probabilities under each event when you want them there. Select any node and the Node Inspector lists what your table holds for it, under headings you choose.
Checked while you build
Events and gates must alternate, every gate needs enough inputs, voting and spare gates must carry the values they need, and probabilities must sit between 0 and 1. The Validation tab says what is wrong and where, so a tree is right before it reaches a review.
Switch between trees in one report
Keep every tree in one table with a Diagram ID column, and a slicer or the diagram picker switches between them, each one redrawn from its own rows. Transfer symbols join trees that continue one another, and a click opens the tree a transfer points to.
Your data
Four rows is a fault tree
A top event, an OR gate under it and two basic events under the gate. These column names map themselves, so there is nothing to set up. Probability goes in Values, set to Don't summarize.
| Node ID | Parent ID | Node Type | Label | Probability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOP | Top Event | Online ordering unavailable | ||
| G1 | TOP | OR Gate | Any cause | |
| P1 | G1 | Basic Event | Database server fails | 0.01 |
| P2 | G1 | Basic Event | Payment service fails | 0.01 |
What it draws
Every event, gate and transfer
Drawn by default with a profile designed with reference to IEC 61025:2006, Fault tree analysis (FTA). The Traditional / NUREG-0492 style and a Custom look are one setting away.
Events
- Top event
- Intermediate event
- Basic event
- Dormant event
- Undeveloped event
- House event
- Zero event
- Conditional event
Gates
- AND
- OR
- Exclusive OR
- NOT
- NAND
- NOR
- Inhibit
- Priority AND
- Sequential
- Spare
- Voting (k/n)
- Functional dependency
- Priority OR
Transfers
- Transfer in
- Transfer out
Validation
Checked against the rules of the method as you build
The Validation tab lists anything that breaks these rules and where it is, so the diagram is right before it reaches a review.
- Exactly one top event, at the root of the tree
- Events and gates alternate, with one event above each gate
- Every gate has the number of inputs it needs
- Voting, priority sequence and spare values are valid
- Probabilities from 0 to 1, and rates and mission times of 0 or more
- Every node can be reached from the top event
- Each transfer points to a diagram in the table
- No cycles
Getting started
From your table to fault trees in a report
Install from Marketplace
In Power BI Desktop, open Get more visuals, search for Ataytis Assurance, and add it.
Add your table
Put Node ID, Parent ID and Node Type in Data fields, and any values you want to show, such as Probability, in Values.
Choose Fault Tree Analysis
Select the visual, open More options (…) and choose Edit, then pick Fault Tree Analysis in the Diagram type list on the left.
Licence it to publish
Power BI Desktop needs no licence. Readers in the Power BI Service do, with the first 30 days free.
Pricing
One licence includes all six analysis modes
Fault Tree Analysis is included alongside Bow-Tie Risk Analysis, Event Tree Analysis, Reliability Block Diagram, Goal Structuring Notation and Markov State Diagram. Ataytis Assurance is licensed per user: $4.99 per user per month for small teams, dropping to $2.49 for 500 users or more. The first month is free on every plan, billed by Microsoft.
Licensing a large team or a whole organisation? Request an enterprise quote
Also in Ataytis Assurance
The other analysis modes in the same visual
Every licence includes all six. Switch mode in the editor, and each one keeps its own mapping, layout and look.
Bow-Tie Risk Analysis
What can go wrong, what prevents it, and what limits the consequences?
Explore bow-tiesEvent Tree Analysis
What follows an initiating event, and how often?
Explore event treesReliability Block Diagram
Does the system keep working when parts of it fail?
Explore reliability block diagramsGoal Structuring Notation
Does the argument for a claim hold together?
Explore goal structuresMarkov State Diagram
How does a system move between states over time?
Explore Markov diagramsQuestions
Fault Tree Analysis questions
Your next fault tree, in Power BI
Build it in Power BI Desktop with no licence and nothing to sign up for. A licence only comes into it when the report is published for others to open.