Effectiveness, Efficiency and Execution, the Fundamentals of a Test and Measurement Strategy

Accuracy, repeatability and utilization are used continually when we talk about test and measurement equipment. These fundamentals allow the balance between the technical and business imperatives that “test” contributes to a product/program's life cycle. From a design point of view, “test” is the de facto tool to ensure the theory of design meets the reality of the product/production specifications. In manufacturing, “test” is a balance between ensuring quality and cost. For support, “test” is about insight with simplicity of operation. All of these play an integral part of the success of a business, but to make this all happen, there is a fundamental assumption that the test and measurement equipment works, is implemented and is operated as it was designed. The fact is, not all “test” is created equal when looking across an enterprise and/or workflow. Not everyone may need the same accuracy, repeatability or even utilization of their test equipment. Therein lies the issue with managing test and measurement equipment: same equipment, different need, different use, different budgets, different owners and different regulations. Yes, it's complicated and even chaotic, but there needs to be some fundamental guiding principles to minimize the complexity while still meeting the needs of the organization. This paper will explore the different scenarios through a product/programs life cycle and break down different use cases. It will look at the workflows from development through support and explore the balance between accuracy, repeatability and utilization with effectiveness, efficiency and execution of test and measurement maintenance. It will lay out different options balancing the tradeoffs of cost, time to market, resources, throughput and other business imperatives. This paper ultimately will give a foundation for a blueprint to develop a test and measurement strategy tailored to your company that optimizes the technical needs with the enterprise's business needs.