Product fix-effectiveness tracking and notification system and method

1. A method of tracking the effectiveness of a product modification that has been incorporated into a product in response to an issued modification notice, the method comprising the steps of:

periodically accessing, via a computer and at a user-selected periodicity, removal data stored in a product removal database that is in operable communication with the computer, the removal data associated with the product into which the modification was incorporated;

executing one or more user-selected fix-effectiveness algorithms on the computer to determine if at least a portion of the periodically accessed removal data matches one or more user-specified keywords that correlate to the modification; and

transmitting an alert from the computer to a preset destination if it is determined that at least a portion of the periodically accessed removal data matches the one or more user-specified keywords,

wherein:

the user-selected periodicity is selected from a plurality of user-selectable periodicities that were rendered on a display by the computer, and

the one or more user-selected fix-effectiveness algorithms are selected from a plurality of user-selectable algorithms that were rendered on the display by the computer.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the step of transmitting an alert comprises generating and transmitting an electronic mail (e-mail) message to the preset destination; and

the preset destination comprises a preset e-mail address.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

generating and transmitting the e-mail message to a plurality of preset e-mail addresses.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

rendering, on the display, a graphical user interface (GUI) that includes a plurality of user interface fields for receiving input data from a user via a user interface device.

5. A system for tracking product reliability, comprising:

a display configured to at least selectively render a plurality of user-selectable periodicities and a plurality of user selectable fix-effectiveness algorithms;

a product removal database having removal data stored therein, the removal data associated with a product; and

a processor in operable communication with the display device and the product removal database, the processor configured to:

periodically access, at a user-selected periodicity that was selected from the plurality of user-selectable periodicities rendered on the display, removal data stored in the product removal database, the removal data associated with a product into which a modification was incorporated,

execute one or more user-selected fix-effectiveness algorithms selected from the plurality of user-selectable fix-effectiveness algorithms rendered on the display to determine if at least a portion of the periodically accessed removal data matches one or more user-specified keywords that correlate to the modification, and

transmit an alert to a preset destination if it is determined that at least a portion of the periodically accessed removal data matches the one or more user-specified keywords.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the processor is further configured to automatically generate one or more reliability-related reports for the product line if the criterion for the user-specified reliability parameter is not met.

7. The system of claim 5 , further comprising wherein:

the processor is further configured to supply image rendering display commands to the display device that cause the display device to render images representative of at least portions of the one or more reliability-related reports.

8. The system of claim 5 , wherein:

the preset destination is a preset electronic mail (e-mail) address; and

the processor is further configured to generate and transmit an e-mail message to the preset e-mail address.