1. A method to assess a probability of failure of operation of a semiconductor wafer comprising: inputting risk factor data into a memory; inputting a plurality of wafers into a semiconductor fabrication manufacturing process; selecting a subset of the plurality of wafers to obtain a sample population of wafers; inspecting at least one region of each wafer of the sample population of wafers; obtaining circuit design data associated with each wafer of the sample population of wafers; identifying one or more defects that present an increased risk to the operation of a particular wafer, wherein the identifying is a function of the risk factor data, the inspecting step and the circuit design data; and assessing a probability of semiconductor wafer failure.