A Systematic Approach to Designing for Testability

The purpose of this paper is to describe a systematic, formalized and timely approach to designing avionics for Testability at all maintenance levels, which will reduce many of the current problems in the field such as "RETEST OKs" and "CANNOT DUPLICATEs." The approach was developed to be used by avionics designers and is recommended for Program Office personnel who specify requirements for avionics design. It was developed to provide a high level of testability to meet specified standards and to maximize the compatibility of the avionics with its support equipment. The objective of this approach to testability in design is to maximize the availability of the avionics system and minimize repair time, spares, and logistics support requirements. Key features of this paper are the systematic approach to designing for all maintenance levels and an integrated maintenance concept which will allow compatible system support, even if separate contractors perform the support at different maintenance levels.