Application of IEEE standards and ATML in TPS development for ministry of defence UK

The UK MOD has closely monitored and supported the development of IEEE Std 1641 through its Standards Liaison Group for Automatic Test and Standards Technical Working Group for Automatic Test, which meet regularly with UK industry. Feedback from those open meetings is provided as technical input directly to IEEE Standards Coordinating Committee 20 (SCC20). IEEE 1641 and related test standards are key in the pan MOD Policy for ATS. In order to meet the Defence Standards for TPS development a number of projects have been chosen to be developed using the IEEE1641 Standard with ATML to describe the TPS and carry the signal definitions. These projects demonstrate the possibility of full TPS development using standards to industry and lead to feedback that is fed into the aforementioned working groups to create proposals which enhance 1641 and related standards. This paper discusses the main features of the UK MOD Policy for ATS. It explains the significance of 1641 to the Policy and the work undertaken by UK MOD in promoting the standard to UK Industry by describing the function of the working groups and Industrial Liaison Groups. The processes followed to develop a TPS are described and problems and solutions are highlighted. A description of a particular projects TPS development life cycle highlights points at which the development changes from a portable TPS description to a TPS aimed at a particular ATS solution. The paper also discusses the impact of changing TPS development methodology from a long standing and well used method to a new, largely untested method and the reaction from TPS developers when confronted with unfamiliar standards. The cost to benefit ratio is discussed and observations made on the assumption that it is more expensive to develop using the new standards than the current methods utilised within the TPS development department. A summary of other projects in work using the Standards and the proposals in store for future work is given.