Tracking of reliability growth in early development

Reliability growth tracking is a method for quantifying and monitoring system reliability during the development process through the collection and analysis of test related data. Often reliability growth tracking is not contractually required or it is not done until late in the development process as part of a formal reliability demonstration test. The benefits that can be obtained by conducting reliability growth tracking earlier in the development process on breadboard prototype systems are pointed out. Discussions of tracking procedures, results and the use of the AMSAA (Army Material Systems Analysis Activity) reliability growth model are presented, based on an actual case study