S6E8 - Design For Real World Engineering: Integrating Uncertainty Into Product Assessment - Greg Grigoriadis - Metisec

Deterministic engineering analysis assigns fixed values to loading conditions, geometry, and material properties. The approach is tractable, but it forces a choice between conservative overdesign and exposure to failure modes that fall outside assumed limits. Neither outcome is satisfying.

Greg Grigoriadis of Metisec describes a design toolkit that replaces fixed inputs with statistical distributions and runs Monte Carlo simulations across the resulting parameter space. The output is a probabilistic picture of performance: failure probabilities, sensitivity rankings, and the specific conditions that actually drive risk.

A sensor mounting bracket for a smart wearable serves as the...