How do you ensure hardware testing quality and reliability in agile environments?

由人工智能和领英社区提供技术支持

Hardware testing and validation methods are essential for ensuring the quality and reliability of your products, especially in agile environments where changes are frequent and feedback loops are short. In this article, we will explore some of the best practices and tools for hardware testing and validation, and how they can help you deliver better value to your customers and stakeholders.

此文章中的业界达人

由社区从 4 条内容中精选。了解更多

Jim Campbell

1 Hardware testing vs validation

Hardware testing is the process of verifying that your hardware components and systems meet the specified requirements and function as expected. Hardware validation is the process of confirming that your hardware solutions satisfy the intended use and needs of your end users and customers. Both testing and validation are important for ensuring the quality and reliability of your hardware products, but they have different goals and methods.

添加您的观点

Jim Campbell
举报内容
For those in the design phase of product development, the verification and validation stages are both important, especially for industries regulated by, say, the FDA, where 21 CFR Part 820 is applicable. Testing for both verification and validation is often handled via a traceability matrix, where test steps are matched with requirements to assure coverage. For manufacturing, verification testing is sufficient, since the design has already been validated and the parts being produced are copies of that validated design.

已翻译

赞

2 Hardware testing methods

Hardware testing methods can be divided into two main categories: functional testing and non-functional testing. Functional testing verifies the functionality and performance of hardware components and systems, such as power consumption, input/output signals, communication protocols, and data processing. Non-functional testing evaluates the quality attributes and characteristics of hardware products, such as durability, reliability, usability, and security. Common hardware testing methods include unit testing (testing individual components or modules with test fixtures, simulators, or emulators), integration testing (testing the interaction of multiple components or modules with test benches, test harnesses, or test platforms), system testing (testing the entire hardware system with real or simulated environments, scenarios, and inputs), and acceptance testing (testing the final product against customer or stakeholder requirements with predefined criteria and specifications).

添加您的观点

3 Hardware validation methods

Hardware validation methods can be divided into two main categories: verification validation and qualification validation. Verification validation is the process of confirming your hardware products meet the design specifications and comply with standards and regulations. Qualification validation is the process of determining if your hardware products are suitable for the intended use and environment. Design validation involves validating the design of your hardware products with design reviews, simulations, models, or prototypes. Process validation assesses the manufacturing process of your hardware products with process control, quality assurance, or statistical analysis. Product validation examines the performance and functionality of your hardware products with field tests, user tests, or beta tests.

添加您的观点

Jim Campbell
举报内容
This item is essentially the same as item 1 which contrasts verification and validation. These two concepts are often summarized as: 1) is the right part built (verification) and 2) is the part built right (validation). Both types of testing rely on good requirements. Requirements gathering is hard - don't trivialize this step.

已翻译

赞

4 Hardware testing and validation tools

Hardware testing and validation tools are software or hardware applications that enable you to automate, manage, or enhance your hardware testing and validation activities. These tools can help you save time, reduce errors, improve efficiency, and increase confidence in your hardware quality and reliability. Some of the most common tools include test automation tools like LabVIEW, TestStand, or Arduino IDE; test management tools such as Jira, Trello, or TestRail; test measurement tools such as oscilloscopes, multimeters, or data loggers; and test simulation tools like Spice, Simulink, or MATLAB.

添加您的观点

Jim Campbell
举报内容
LabVIEW is the most commonly used platform for hardware testing. Some of our clients like to use C# due to its tight devops integration. But LabVIEW is improving in this area. Test management tools have been around for decades, and are mainly aimed at completing the traceability matrix mentioned above. One important aspect not mentioned here is version control (VC). For software, VC is often referred to as source code control. But VC also applied to the hardware BOMs and assembly instructions used in the build of the test equipment. The point of VC is to be able to build another test station just like the first one. Finally, don't forget the need to test the tester, which is another layer on top of the HW V&V.

已翻译

赞

5 Hardware testing and validation best practices

Hardware testing and validation best practices are guidelines or principles that can help you improve the quality and reliability of your hardware products. To do this, you should define clear and realistic requirements and specifications, plan and design your strategy, choose the appropriate methods and tools, perform testing throughout the development lifecycle, and collect and analyze data from your activities. All of these steps can help you avoid common pitfalls, optimize resources, and deliver better value to customers and stakeholders in agile environments with frequent changes and short feedback loops.

添加您的观点

Jim Campbell
举报内容
There are several types of development processes applicable to designing and building a test system. For example, the tried-and-true method of the Waterfall process still works, but is being modified by CI/CD (continuous integration and deployment) where appropriate to enable rapid and incremental updates to the tester. In my experience, agile methods help best when the client is not sure what is possible balanced against what they want and budget is flexible. Many companies want firm fixed price contracts, making agile methods impractical.

已翻译

赞

Hardware Support

+ 关注

给文章评分

我们借助人工智能创建了此文章。您认为这篇文章怎么样？

很棒不太好

举报此文章

查看全部

How do you ensure hardware testing quality and reliability in agile environments?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Hardware testing vs validation

2 Hardware testing methods

3 Hardware validation methods

4 Hardware testing and validation tools

5 Hardware testing and validation best practices

Hardware Support

给文章评分

感谢您的反馈

更多Hardware Support相关文章

更多相关阅读内容