Breaking the code on understanding test throughout the product life cycle - theory meets reality - a case study

Time to market seems to be the mantra of our time in product design today. Test seems to be one of the more obvious bottlenecks for delay but, is it the root cause or just a symptom of a bigger problem? The truth is, it's a little of both. The lack of a sound test strategy to catch defects at their inception is a root cause of a problem that starts in R&D. Until recently, engineers lacked the tools to analyze the impact of different test strategies, and the overall effectiveness of a test suite. Lack of coordination efforts between development groups leads to the design of ineffective, inefficient or poor tests. In manufacturing and support, the symptoms show up as product failure. With ineffective tests there is a lack of understanding of the root cause and many times results in a "no trouble found" diagnosis. We explore these two areas; ineffective test design and no trouble found and show solutions that uncover and eliminate them through pragmatic metrics. Ultimately, a by-product of improved test is shortening the time to market and improving test engineering across the product life cycle.