The Weibull distribution is widely used in reliability engineering. While the Weibull distribution is important for life data analyses, Weibull packages typically encompass support for various other significant distributions used in statistical analyses, such as exponential, normal, and lognormal.

Weibull analysis, also called life data analysis and failure data analysis, is used a wide variety of applications. For example, you can use Weibull analysis to evaluate field failures or test failures. The idea is to determine a best fit distribution for the collected sample data so that you can uncover or predict trends.

To perform a Weibull analysis, the first and most important step is to gather sound life data. You must identify the failure usage scale, which are the units for the age of the component or system being tested. Age might be measured in units of operating hours, miles, or cycles. It is also important to analyze one failure mode at a time.

Once you identify the data associated with failure, you can enter the data, select the distribution and estimation method, calculate and graph results, and predict future trends.

If you are unfamiliar with and would like to study this topic in more detail, the following selections are excellent references: