Theory of Fault Tolerance. Volume II. An Examination of a Design for Testability Methodology.

摘要

Until recently, system testing and support, like software, has been considered to be of secondary importance when compared to the major costs of hardware procurement. Now system complexity and labor rates have combined with decreasing digital hardware costs to change this emphasis. Thus a new emphasis has been placed on testability and maintainability of new systems. Field experience along with the results of the recent Navy ATE workshop held in San Diego show that designing for testability contributes the most toward the reduction of testing problems. Brute force application of built-in test techniques has been shown in the past to be an ineffective, costly solution. What is needed is a top down methodological approach to designing more testable systems with minimal cost impact. The primary purpose of this paper is to outline the components of such a methodology. The second objective is to assess the present state of the art in design for testability by reviewing current design practices. From this framework, the research and development efforts needed to support a design for testability methodology are recommended.