Testability for all seasons

The author discusses the many roles of the testability engineer throughout the development cycle and summarizes successful techniques which have been used on a FSD program. The preplanned use of common BIT (built-in test) software throughout all echelons of maintenance and at the factory is reported. The author identifies many compelling reasons to design for testability, including MIL-STD-2165 compliance. The growing need for BIT and testability designed concurrently with hardware is cited along with the substantial potential for savings in manufacture, life-cycle maintenance, and maintenance support system costs. The role of the testability engineer in the development of a product is shown to be pervasive throughout the project, varied in scope and context, and highly demanding in knowledge and skills