Original Date: 04/20/1998
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Previously, independent functional organizations at ITT Aerospace/Communications Division (A/CD) sequentially carried out product test requirements; test hardware and software development; and quality/customer validation of automated test equipment (ATE) with little interaction or mutual input. This approach led to long development times, interpretation errors, unnecessary costs, and some final products with incomplete testing. ITT Aerospace/ Communications Division developed the ATE review and validation process based on the Integrated Product Development (IPD) team approach and use of peer reviews.

The IPD team consists of representatives from all pertinent functional organizations (e.g., design, test, quality, production, customer). The team meets regularly during the entire design process, ensuring that all members are heard during the development phase and agree with the end results. At the conclusion of the ATE design phase and prior to the ATE build phase, an Initial Peer Review is held which involves the test project leader, design engineer, and test support engineer. This group reviews the ATE design including product specification, proposed ATE drawings, test methodology, and test data storage. Action items are then assigned, and must be completed before the ATE build phase can proceed. At the conclusion of the ATE build phase and prior to the ATE quality/customer validation phase, a Final Peer Review is held which involves the Initial Peer Review members plus quality and customer representatives. This group reviews the ATE design including actual test methodology and required maintenance, and ensures that the quality and customer representatives understand how the ATE meets the product specification. Action items are then assigned, and must be completed before the ATE quality/customer validation phase can proceed.

Since implementing the ATE review and validation process, ITT A/CD has increased communication and mutual understanding among its functional organizations; reduced debugging time; created a robust, standardized design procedure; and ensured all tests are performed. In addition, validation time has been reduced from two weeks to two days.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.