plan for success with - bloomy.com€¦ · microsoft powerpoint -...

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Plan for Success with

Automated Test

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Automated Test

An introductory discussion

Who Are We?

• In business since 1991: Integration, Turnkey

• Select Alliance Partners

with National Instruments

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• In business since 1991: Integration, Turnkey

Systems, Training, Consulting

Elaine

- Certified Architect

- Senior Project Engineer

- Principle Trainer – TestStand

startup & customization specialist

Grant

- Certified LV Architect

-Senior Project Engineer

- Bloomy Universal Test System

architect

Tactics: How to Grow with TestStand

• Know your framework

• Choose your features

• Define your fundamental

constraints

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constraints

• Plan for flexible re-design

• Document your design

Scenario: A Universal Testbed

A B

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Deadline?

4 weeks!

Goal?

Keep Costs Down!

A B

C D

Know Your Framework

Built-in features can be

used as-is or

customized to meet

Report

Generation

Database

Test

Templates

Test

TestStand Framework

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customized to meet

individual needs

Database

Connections

Developer

Interface(s)

Run-time

Interface(s)

Test

Sequences

Tools &

Utilities

User

Manager

Choose Your Features: Know What’s There

• Property Files

• User Management

• UUT Tracking

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• Reporting

• Databasing

• Error Handling

Choose Your Features: Customizations

• Reconfigurable hardware

• External limits file

• User maintenance

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• Alternate testing modes

• Auto/Manual/Debug

Initial Planning

What can you expect to change

during development?

What should you restrict

before development?

• One vs. Many Sequences

• File Hierarchy

• Hardware Configuration

• Test Plan

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• File Hierarchy

• Naming Conventions

• Data Types

• Report Style

• UI Style

• Test Plan

• System Properties

• Test Properties/Limits

Defining Constraints – Organization

• One vs. Many Sequences

How you organize your sequence

affects many aspects of your overall

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affects many aspects of your overall

framework

• File Hierarchy

Upfront organization prevents future

headaches

Defining Constraints - Conventions

• Naming Conventions

Make your sequences easy to

interpret for you and your data

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interpret for you and your data

parsers

• Data Types

Standardize complex data into an

intuitive hierarchy

(Containers & Arrays)

Defining Constraints - Style

• User Interface Style

Keep a consistent look and

feel to main UI and Dialogs –

Templates can help!

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Templates can help!

• Report Style

File Type, Header Data, File

Names are easier to design

upfront than to retrofit

Initial Planning

What can you expect to change

during development?

What should you restrict

before development?

• One vs. Many Sequences

• File Hierarchy

• Hardware Configuration

• Test Plan

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• File Hierarchy

• Naming Conventions

• Data Types

• Report Style

• UI Style

• Test Plan

• System Properties

• Test Properties/Limits

Plan for Re-Design – Hardware Configuration

• Why?

Test Systems are ever evolving – don’t get locked

down to a specific hardware map

• How?

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• How?

Aliases help provide abstraction from the physical

hardware layer and can make the system easier to

understand for test developers

• System level aliases

• PXI Modules

• External Instrumentation (GPIB, LXI)

• Why not use MAX?

Hardware Configuration – Aliasing

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• Why not use MAX?

• Test-specific aliases

• Map channels to UUT Connections

• Switched DMM, Relays/Matrices, AIO, DIO

• .ini file + custom parsing

Alias Loading Example

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Plan for Re-Design – Test Plan

• Expect test plan

changes

• Requirements

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• Implementation

• Methodology

• Test Order

Plan for Re-Design – Property Files

• System Property Files

• Generic test framework settings (paths, network info, etc)

• Sequence Property Files

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• Sequence Property Files

• Test Limits

• Test Variables & Settings

• Other test-specific software

configuration

Plan for Re-Design – Property Files

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Document Your Framework

• Avoid maintenance issues

• Simplify development

• Maintain consistency

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• Maintain consistency

• Allow for flexibility

• Track effort required for changes

Summary:

• Start with a reliable off the shelf framework

& layer custom features on-top.

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• Define framework constraints upfront and

stick with them

• Allow for flexibility, especially with hardware

configuration and test sequences

Contact Bloomy

• Grant Gothing (grant.gothing@bloomy.com)

• Elaine Ramundo (elaine.ramundo@bloomy.com)

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• Visit us at Booth 522

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