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March 2026
Why Electronics Developers Should Think About Testing
By Alexander Labrada Diaz, Applications Engineer — Embedded JTAG Solutions, GÖPEL electronic GmbH
stations will eventually face the question of how to validate their prototypes. There are nu- merous options, but one solution in particular offers electronics designers independence and flexibility while also facilitating the transfer of tests to production.
I
Everyday Life of a Developer Many developers will recognize them-
selves in the following situation: The first pro- totype is ready, but now has to wait days or weeks for its initial use until the first firmware is ready. If failures occur, the question often arises: Where is this fail- ure? Software or hardware development? During troubleshooting, the project is
pushed back and forth, and the handover to production is delayed. The solution would be to provide developers with tools to start software-independent quality as- surance as early as possible.
Design for Testability Over the course of nearly three
decades, JTAG/boundary scan has estab- lished itself as a standardized electrical test procedure (IEEE 1149.x) and opened the door to numerous technologies and applica- tions. GÖPEL electronic has been actively re- searching the advancement of these solutions
Embedded JTAG solution SCANFLEX II CUBE controller with SYSTEM CASCON software.
sembly that cannot be tested because of a single missing connection. Software such as SYSTEM CASCON provides support for complying with these
nspecting PCBAs is the job of production or the test lab — or so you might think, but even developers at their engineering work-
since the beginning and today offers test and programming solutions for complex PCBA with high-speed data links under the umbrel- la technology “embedded JTAG solutions.” It became apparent early on that costs
can be reduced if testing is considered at an early stage — this is also referred to as “de- sign for testability.” These are design rules that should be observed in order to simplify testing. If certain points are ignored, the achievable test depth can be significantly im- paired or, in extreme cases, completely lost. And nothing is more annoying than an as-
rules. Again, it makes sense to start test cre- ation at a very early stage of product develop- ment. Once the layout has been finalized, it is relatively difficult to make changes.
Developers and Tests Why should the developer be involved in
the generation of tests? Because no one knows the PCBA better than the developer, who is fa- miliar with every component designation and knows where the critical points are. Design changes to increase the test depth can be im- plemented quickly, resulting in an optimal test-ready design of the PCBA. Even the first prototype can be tested
using the same tests as the series product. This eliminates the need for time-consum- ing troubleshooting and saves develop- ment time. Using the same tests results in the same test depth for development and production. In addition, it is possible to make the same pin-accurate error state- ment. This in turn leads to effective com- missioning of prototypes and pilot series under series conditions. In the case of contract manufactur- ing, development also serves as an optimal
interface. The test archive is simply hand- ed over to the contract manufacturer, so
there is no need for coordination on the part of the contract manufacturer regarding test cre- ation and test scope. Changes to the tests can
Continued on next page
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