Test pays
Richard A. Quinnell, Technical Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 3/1/2004
Management bent on cost cutting may look hard at test efforts because they have no direct impact on the bottom line. As communications ability becomes a feature of more and more electronic devices, trimming test costs becomes a worse and worse idea. A recent report from the Wi-Fi Alliance (www.wi-fi.org) bears this out.
The Alliance has announced results from the certification testing program it began last year. More than 1000 products have been certified, but it is the number of products that have failed that is of particular note. More than 25% of products that are prepared for certification testing fail in one way or another. The percentage of failure was even greater for products that did not undergo the preparation process.
If these products had been introduced to the market without certification, these failures would have manifested as an unsatisfactory user experience. Such dissatisfaction eventually hurts business and destroys brand reputations. Worse, it may not be your problem. It takes two devices to communicate, so the problems of one device can affect the users of both.
More than ever, test engineers need to help management recognize the value of adequate testing, especially in communications systems. Results such as the Wi-Fi Alliance experience can help. Company budgets show test efforts simply as an expense. It is up to engineers to make sure that management is aware that, in the long run, test pays.
Contact Richard A. Quinnell at richquinnell@att.net .
