Take a look at this eBook and see how you measure up! Learn how you can improve your product’s lifecycle while saving time, energy and budget. Excerpt from this document: User-defined software residing on a host PC or on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) can easily optimize modular PXI-type instruments in one chassis. And at a low level, this approach is driven by high-performance processors and buses with flexible peripheral IO, providing precise synchronization, smart power distribution, and other benefits.

1. HOw HIgh-TEcH oEMs ARe IMpRoViNg
PRoDuCt QUaLiTy aNd tHe BOtToM LInE
TOP 5 TRENDS
IN PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT AND
TEST ENGINEERING

2. SOFTWARE-DEFINED
INSTRUMENTATION1.Inmanyindustries,therehasbeenashiftaway
fromself-containedboxinstrumentstomoreflexible
software-definedinstruments.Inthepast,box
instrumentsmadeperfectsensewhenproduct
featuresetsdidn’tchangeradically.Butintoday’s
market,multipleintegratedtechnologiesrequire
creativetestapproaches.
Insectorslikeconsumerelectronics,
manymanufacturersemploymodular
instrumentsthatcanbeprogrammed
formultiplepurposesandproducts.
Forexample,asneworupdatedprotocolsbecome
available,engineerssimplyhavetomakesoftware
changesratherthanpurchasenewhardware.
Top 5 Trends in Product Development and Test Engineering / Averna
FLeXiBle sOfTwArE
CaN GrEaTlY ExTeNd
HaRdWaRe VaLuE

3. 1
User-defined software residing on a host PC
or on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA)
can easily optimize modular PXI-type
instruments in one chassis. And at a low level,
this approach is driven by high-performance
processors and buses with flexible peripheral
IO, providing precise synchronization, smart
power distribution, and other benefits.
What’sbehindthetrend?
• Needformoreflexibletestequipment
forwiderapplications
• Drivetoincreasemeasurementspeed
andunitthroughput
• Pressuretogetlongerlifeandwideruse
fromtestinvestments
SOFTWARE-DEFINED
INSTRUMENTATION
RAPIDLY
CHANGING
FEATURESAND
TESTINGREQUIRE
INNOVATIVE
SOLUTIONS.
Top 5 Trends in Product Development and Test Engineering / Averna

4. EMERGENCE OF
TEST AS A SERVICE2.
Top 5 Trends in Product Development and Test Engineering / Averna
Today,manyOEMs*outsourcenon-core
functions,resultinginthegrowthof,forexample,
thecorporateIT,securityandsupportindustries.
Inproductdevelopment,wehaveseenan
upswinginthenumberoforganizationslooking
forspecializedtestexpertiseforcertainphases
oftheproductlifecycle.
SomeOEMsarestrugglingbecausetheysimply
donothavethedepthorbreadthofexpertise
tocoverallthevalidationrequired.Thisisunder-
standableashigh-techproducts–suchastelecom
components,infotainmentsystems,household
electronicsandmobiledevices–become
increasinglycomplex.
TEsT Is bEcOmInG
A DiStInCt VAlUe-
AdDeD PrOcEsS
*Originalequipmentmanufacturer.
a
v
t

5. Historically, most OEMs have been able to
handle their own product-test requirements,
hence they simply reassign R&D engineers
to production or RMA test activities as
needed. While this makes short-term sense,
in many cases it is actually counterproduc-
tive, as these resources scramble to learn
new tools/processes, spend weeks at
production sites, and get behind in their
product design or NPI tasks.
What’sbehindthetrend?
• OEMswantmaximumefficiency
fromeachengineeringresource
• Complexproductsneedspecialized
testapproaches
• Increasedcompetitionrequires
higherqualityandfastertestcycles
EMERGENCE OF TEST
AS A SERVICE 2
OUTSOURCING
SOMETESTFUNCTIONS
CANBETRULYCOST
EFFECTIVE.
Top 5 Trends in Product Development and Test Engineering / Averna

6. EARLY PRODUCT LIFECYCLE TESTING3.
Traditionally,testhasbeenassociated
primarilywiththeproductmanufacturing
stage:testthecomponents,troubleshoot,
assembletheparts,troubleshoot,etc.
Today,however,this“testasyougo”
approachoftenleadstocostoverruns,
delays,andmountingscrappiles.
Sincemosttestexpensesarecommittedduring
thedesignphase,manyOEMsarespendingmore
timeanalyzingandstreamliningtheiractivities
earlyintheproductlifecycletoreduceexpenses
andshortenproductioncycletimes.TheDesign
forTest(DFT)approachisabigpartofthisshift.
Top 5 Trends in Product Development and Test Engineering / Averna
oEMs aRe
ElImInAtInG MoRe
PrObLeMsaT
ThE DEsIgN PhAse.
DESIGN NPI PRODUCTION REPAIR

7. 3
WithaDFTapproach,OEMsareidentifying,
asearlyaspossible,potentialflawsinproduct
design,usability,testcoverageorassembly
processes.Disparateorganizationshaveseen
thevaluethatDFTcanbringtotheirproducts
andthebenefitsitcandeliversuchasincreased
brandprotection,improvedtimetomarket,
andbetterfinancialresults.
What’sbehindthetrend?
• Needtoeliminateproductflawsearlier
inthelifecycle
• Savingsandproductivitygains
fromstreamlinedprocesses
• ClosercollaborationbetweenR&D
andManufacturing
EARLY PRODUCT
LIFECYCLE TESTING
“MOSTOFTHE
PRODUCTLIFECYCLE
COSTSARE
COMMITTEDAT(THE)
DESIGNSTAGE.”
–WIKIPEDIA
Top 5 Trends in Product Development and Test Engineering / Averna

8. OFF-THE-SHELF
ANALYTICS
SOLUTIONS4.WiththeriseofcloudcomputingandBigData,many
organizationsarestrugglingtoacquire,trackand
makesenseofalltheinformationthatiskeyfortheir
operations.Productdevelopmentisnodifferent,
especiallygiventhenatureofglobalmanufacturing,
productcomplexity,anddistributedsupplychains.
Mostorganizationsassign
in-houseresourcestohandle
allthedatageneratedbythe
varioustestsystems.Butthe
downsidetothisapproachcan
includemajorlagsbetween
data-gatheringanddecision-making,lack
ofuniformreports,non-scalablesystems,etc.
SMaRtLy aGgReGaTeD
DaTa iS ImPrOvInG
BuSiNeSs sPeEd aNd
PrOcEsSes.
Top 5 Trends in Product Development and Test Engineering / Averna

9. Furthercomplicatingthematter,most
in-housesystemscan’tprovidethe
big-picturestoryorthedrill-downcapability
thatwouldallowvariousdepartments–
rangingfromR&D,manufacturing,and
RMAs–toquicklyaccesscrucialproduct
information.COTS*analyticstoolsprovide
anefficientanduniformmethodforvarious
stakeholderstoanalyzekeyperformance
indicators(KPIs).
What’sbehindthetrend?
• NeedtokeepITandotherpersonnel
focusedoncoreduties
• Bettervisibilityrequiredforvendor
andsupply-chainperformance
• Desiretoleverageindustrybest
practicesandavoidcostoverruns
ANALYTICS
CONVERTSDATA
INTOACTIONABLE
INFORMATION.
4OFF-THE-SHELF
ANALYTICS SOLUTIONSTop 5 Trends in Product Development and Test Engineering / Averna
* Commercial off-the-shelf* Commercial off-the-shelf

10. “SMART”
TEST SYSTEMS5.Teststationsareevolving.Inthepast,alot
oftestintelligencecamefromtheoperator,
manualdataanalysisandothervariablefactors.
Byintegratingautomationandself-check
featuresintoteststations,OEMshavebeen
abletoget–evenremotely–real-timedata
aboutimportantissuesthathelptheirbusiness
operations.
Forexample,subsystemscapableoftrackingvarious
metrics–suchasstation“uptime,”short-and
long-termproductionyields,processdrift(Cp-Cpk),
calibrationandmaintenancerequirements–enable
OEMstoimprovecapacityplanningandtrouble-
shootfaster.
Top 5 Trends in Product Development and Test Engineering / Averna
TEsT StAtIoNs
ArE AdDiNg BrAiN
To tHeIr BrAwn.
UUT 3 UUT 4
UUT 1 UUT 2
UUT 3 UUT 4
UUT 1 UUT 2
Product B
Product A

11. 5“SMART”
TEST SYSTEMS
Akeyadvantageofasmartteststationis
flexibility.Withaneasilyadaptableplatform,
OEMshavealotoflatitudetorapidlyshift
productionbetweenstationsorwhenthey
needtorepurposecertainsystems,suchas
convertingNPIstationsintoreturns-screening
orrepairstations.Thiscanbringmanybenefits
likeoptimizedthroughput,morecapacityfrom
fewerstations,andreducedoverallcostoftest.
What’sbehindthetrend?
• Maximizingteststationup-time
andthroughput
• Minimizingtest-infrastructurefootprint
andCapEx*
• Repurposingequipmentforother
productlifecyclephases
ANINTELLIGENT
TESTSTATION
WILLPAYMANY
DIVIDENDS.
Top 5 Trends in Product Development and Test Engineering / Averna
* Capital expenditures.

12. WHETHERYOU’RE
APRODUCTDESIGNER,
ENGINEEROR
EXECUTIVE,LEARN
MOREABOUTTEST
BESTPRACTICES
FROMOUREXPERTS_
WHATWORKS,
WHATDOESN’T
ANDWHAT
THETRENDSARE.
www.averna.com
C A N A D A U N I T E D S T AT E S M E X I C O J A P A N
JUsT Don’T TeLl oUr
“TeSt-y” cEO – hE ThInKs
We’Re cRaZy gIvInG AwAy
MaRkEt iNtElLiGeNcE
LiKe tHis.
THESE PEOPLE EAT INNOVATION FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH ON
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WHILE ON VACATION, THEY DESIGN APPS TO FIND THE LATEST
TRENDS, COMPETE IN NEWFANGLED SPORTS, AND RETURN
HOME WITH ASTOUNDING VIRTUAL SOUVENIRS.
TO BrInG YoU ThIs eBoOk, wE MiNd-MeLdEd
WiTh gLoBe-TrOtTiNg pRoDuCt aNd tEsT ExPeRts.
ASk fOr oUr eBOoKs
On TEsT AUtOmAtIon,
BUiLd-To-PRiNt
AnD MoRe!
09/2014
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