Coverage and intensity (measured by Almen strips) can have a profound effect on fatigue life. This can affect a variety of materials typically shot peened. Incomplete or excessive coverage and intensity can result in reduced fatigue life. Overpeening will cause excessive cold working on the surface of the workpiece, which can also cause fatigue cracks. Diligence is required when developing parameters for coverage and intensity, especially when using materials having different properties (i.e. softer metal to harder metal). Testing fatigue life over a range of parameters would result in a "sweet-spot" where there is near exponential growth to a peak fatigue life (x = peening intensity or media stream energy, y = time-to-crack or fatigue strength) and rapidly decay fatigue life as more intensity or coverage is added. The "sweet-spot" will directly correlate with the kinetic energy transferred and the material properties of the shot media and workpiece.