An XML-based test system management environment

Test system resource management is an important aspect of test asset maintenance and configuration control. It is a key requirement in all ATS procurement activities and affects a number of disciplines from TPS developers to calibration and maintenance personal. Teradyne's TestStudio test operating environment software provides a set of services for specifying and viewing test system contents, configuration and connectivity information stored as a series of XML files. XML offers the advantages of enhanced transportability of the data it expresses and the ease of displaying data in electronic (e.g., a web browser) or printed form. This paper discusses the details of the test system management environment, the information contained in it, the role of XML in it, and the mechanisms for utilization of the data in maintenance and configuration management reports and TPSs.