This paper addresses systems and components subjected to dynamic environments where stress response is the key metric for engineering evaluation. It presents a method for converting shock and vibration response spectra into stress response spectra, along with an approach for extending relative fatigue damage spectra into stress-based cumulative damage indices. The conversion uses the stress–velocity method recommended by Hunt, Chalmers, Gaberson, and Piersol. The method accounts for modal participation factors and mass-normalized eigenvector coefficients, whose product defines the modal gain factor. An approximate estimate of maximum global stress or fatigue damage is also provided as a function of natural frequency and amplification factor. This approach is useful for preliminary design assessments, determining when detailed dynamic finite element analysis (FEA) is required, and serving as a hand-calculation check on FEA-based dynamic stress results.