A SYSTEMATIC-APPROACH TO HARDWARE QUALIFICATION

A systematic approach for the development of a hardware qualification approach is described. This approach stems from the need to address th e ''Catch-22'' of not flying new technology because it has not flown. A physics of failure approach is used to identify failure modes, and t he impact and likelihood of these failures on the mission requirements is plotted in a Requirements Matrix. These same failure modes are plo tted against the effectiveness of the available preventions, analyses, control, and rests (PACTs) at screening for, or eliminating, these fa ilure modes in a test effectiveness matrix. Matrix multiplication resu lts in a ranked set of PACTs that can be sorted according to cost and redundancy with other PACTs. This and other information resulting from the process allows project managers to make more informed decisions r egarding the cost and risk tradeoffs inherent in any qualification pro gram.