Turning testing from a burden into a strategic asset? Here’s how leading automotive OEMs are doing it
Latest update time：2020-08-07
Reads：
NI Automotive Magazine is updated
Chapter 1 How to test future in-vehicle communications?
Chapter 2 Click Mazda uses software-defined automated testing system to reduce testing costs by 90%
In the past, product testing was only a supporting function in the development and manufacturing process and was considered a cost expense that had to be spent.
Now, leading companies have successfully transformed testing from a burden to a strategic asset.
The key first step is to have their own test architecture.
In Chapter 4, we will introduce
how
leading
automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers do it.
Catalog List
⭐What
inspiration did Edwin Hubble give us in terms of continuous innovation?
⭐ C-V2X open loop test system
⭐ Rapid integration of V2X use cases using a software-defined approach
⭐Have its own test architecture to meet the ever-expanding test coverage requirements
⭐ The future of automotive testing: A conversation with Jeff Phillips
⭐ Achieve IVI/Automotive Multimedia Test Automation, Solution Introduction
⭐ Infotainment and Telematics Production Testing
⭐ Trustworthiness of ADAS, connectivity and electric vehicles
全球越来越多的汽车消费者基于汽车用户界面或人机界面(HMI)体验做出购买决定。车载信息娱乐系统(IVI)或汽车多媒体系统以及数字驾驶舱会显著影响人们的驾乘体验
。
尽管HMI相关的汽车电子产品代码占所有汽车总代码的70%，但是随着增强现实抬头显示器和空口编程等新功能的不断涌现，快速验证系统和生产基础设施变得更加困难。
领先的汽车OEM和一级供应商已成功对其测试组织进行转型，将其变为战略资产，以增强其差异化优势，提高市场竞争力。
Optimize your test organization to stay competitive
As the IVI and automotive multimedia markets continue to grow, infotainment systems are being widely used in various car models. Non-core players such as electronics and software companies try to leverage their large user base to participate in the market and try to reduce the
average
.
However, HMI systems should integrate other subsystems and ensure quality to maintain a competitive advantage;
therefore, it is imperative to optimize the test organization while ensuring operational efficiency while ensuring quality.
Why not a general purpose or multi-function test system?
Universal or multi-functional test systems are attractive, but rarely work.
Without clearly defined pain points, you may focus on technology and standardization as the only solution, often leading to disappointment from leadership and internal stakeholders.
Unless multiple teams, internal customers, or end users adopt the same standards, it will be difficult to achieve results and get the expected return on investment (ROI).
General or multi-function testers may be too rigid or over-designed to be applicable to different product life cycles, and are not scalable to meet unexpected product testing needs. On the contrary, given the design principles and strategies of the automated test architecture, if an enterprise adopts an automated test architecture, it will allow all departments of the organization to remain consistent, reuse the same test assets and components, and achieve dynamic resource utilization. This architecture can be applied to the entire product life cycle, help reduce quality costs, help companies launch better products to the market faster, and improve economic benefits.
In
the past
, product testing was only a supporting function in the development and manufacturing process and was considered a cost expense.
Now, leading companies have successfully transformed testing from a burden to a strategic asset. The first key step is to have your own test architecture.
The standardization process covers the entire life cycle. In this process, it is important to treat the test architecture or test standards as
a product and let all relevant internal personnel know its roadmap.
So how do you turn your test organization into a strategic asset? By
creating
a standard test platform,
developing valuable test-based intellectual property,
improving the efficiency of your test team while reducing operating costs, and
achieving business goals by continuously improving product margins and quality and shortening time to market.
People, Process and Technology
In order to achieve standardization of test architecture, three
factors
:
People
-
In order to build an efficient elite team, a Center of Excellence (CoE) should be established. The adoption of standards is the most challenging key step. As a core team, CoE should have its own internal standards or test architecture and promote them to different teams and the entire product development cycle.
The CoE should seek input and support from internal end users such as test engineers and leverage test standards expertise to manage external engineering resources to accelerate the development of test systems.
Processes
—
Treat internal test standards or architectures as products is key to driving standardization efforts and increasing productivity through faster test code development and better utilization of test assets. Standardization is not just about technology; rather, the standardization process will evolve as end-user needs align with new technologies. The impact of test strategy and standardization is broad, so it is critical to prioritize and develop a roadmap. A roadmap is developed based on business metrics to drive the project and highlight early wins, helping to ensure senior management support for deployment and optimization.
Technology
—
Win support and easily measure ROI throughout the standardization process through comprehensive financial model comparisons and quantitative analysis results. Take information technology (IT) as an example. At the beginning, IT only provides support functions such as standard computing functions, data storage, and automation of routine tasks.
But now, according to the total cost of ownership (TCO) model, IT has become a strategic asset that helps companies make smarter investment decisions. In leading companies, IT also helps simplify key business processes and helps managers make core business decisions in the first place. Moreover, TCO can effectively promote test standardization and help companies understand the hidden costs that can be optimized throughout the internal test standardization process.
How industry convergence affects test architecture
Gartner's 2014 report "Industry Convergence: The Digital Industrial Revolution" pointed out: "Industry convergence is the most fundamental opportunity for organizational development." Testing organizations can learn from the experience of other industries and integrate resources to accelerate innovation.
We have found that the technology convergence in the field of IVI and automotive multimedia systems is increasing, such as the convergence of wireless standards. Leading automotive companies often adopt mature semiconductor and mobile industry test architectures. The software-defined automated test architecture is completely independent of suppliers and has separate software and hardware layers. The two main software layers include the test management layer and the test development layer, which provides extremely high flexibility for software, instruments, and test systems.
The test management software layer is also called the test execution software, which is responsible for the execution of test tasks and is independent of the test development software layer. The test execution software can execute and deploy test sequences or scenarios, and call almost any test code using software such as LabVIEW, C++, or Python, so that new and old versions of test code can be easily integrated into a test sequence.
The software can also perform parallel testing and generate results or log data to various databases. TestStand is the industry's leading off-the-shelf test execution software that can adapt to various I/O combinations through a flexible modular hardware architecture, and PXI has become the fastest growing mainstream modular automated test standard in the world.
After determining the standard test architecture, the next step is to evaluate the matching solutions on the market to keep up with the ever-changing technology market. For example, if you want to build an RF test platform for IVI verification testing, you need to use multiple RF generators to perform radio, navigation, multimedia, and connection tests. The modularity of PXI-based RF instruments and
third-party signal generation software such as Averna AST-1000 can help users develop and manage flexible IVI RF test platforms in a shorter time.
The flexible modular test architecture also enables further automation, signal simulation, and cost optimization: for example, adding RF switch modules to support multiple DUTs, or using redundant array of independent hard disks (RAID) to record and replay functions to replicate
actual RF signals collected in the field.
For telematics or V2X emergency call (eCall) testing requirements, a base station emulator such as the NOFFZ sUTP 5017 BSE can be incorporated into the test platform.
In addition, because you own your own test architecture, you can customize the test system to your needs, and because the ecosystem is based on a software-defined automated test architecture, basic test specifications can be quickly met. These specifications can also be met when using the PXI platform to test IVI or automotive multimedia systems because the platform includes a software-defined automated test architecture.
NI's automated test ecosystem includes not only RF testing, but also audio, video, automotive bus, NFC and wireless charging,
machine vision, and motion control to meet the ever-changing test requirements and automation needs.
Because the test system is based on your own test architecture, you can manage the test system with confidence even if you need to completely outsource the development of the test system.
The test architecture defines the parts or layers that each party is responsible for at each stage of the test system life cycle, from early development to test, thus becoming a common guideline or common language between the test organization and system integration partners.
in conclusion
As new features emerge, validating systems and meeting production deadlines becomes more challenging, and you may ask, “Can instrument vendors innovate at the rate my business needs?” But perhaps a better question is, is it worth the risk to find the answer? Whether you choose to buy an off-the-shelf test system or develop your own, having your own test architecture is critical.
Successful automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers have their own standard test architectures and have successfully transformed test organizations into strategic assets, providing a reliable basis for decision-making and maintaining competitive advantages in the market. These companies have proven that
software-defined automated test architectures provide guiding principles and strategies for test organizations to maintain consistency, enabling them to reuse test assets and components, dynamically utilize resources, and deploy throughout the product life cycle, which helps to bring better products to market faster, thereby reducing quality costs and improving company benefits.
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