Establish the value of measurement

Richard A. Quinnell, Technical Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 10/1/2004

The pace of technology change strains everything, and measurement practices are no exception. Cutting edge products arrive on the scene long before their subtleties are fully understood. This leaves test engineers with only partial guidance on what parameters to test, how to test them, and what their values and tolerances should be.

Unfortunately, with many new technologies, test engineers don't get the chance to investigate these issues before products are introduced. Instead, they play catch-up during the technology's early adoption, which leads to a lot of waste.

Common business practice seeks to push technology into the market quickly, and corporate management often views test and measurement as a necessary evil to be restrained as much as possible. Test engineers working with emerging technologies such as ultra wideband and ZigBee need to combat this viewpoint by demonstrating the bottom-line value of their efforts.

One place to look for proof of value is in the returns and the scrap generated by the conservative guardbands that get placed on parameters in emerging technologies. When measurement methods, tools, and goals are more thoughtfully prepared, returns and scrap decline, reducing cost. Estimating the reduction gives test engineers a value that can be used in a return on investment (ROI) analysis to justify an investment. Establish the value of measurement, and reap the rewards of both funding and respect from management.

Contact Richard A. Quinnell at richquinnell@att.net .