Concurrent engineering for automatic test station development

During the planning stage for development of a new test station or upgrade, one becomes very aware that there are many tasks to accomplish in a short period of time. It is often important to maintain a short development cycle while accomplishing both hardware and software tasks such as hardware selection and driver development. Concurrent engineering allows for a simultaneous activity of hardware and software personnel during test station development. This paper will discuss the application of concurrent engineering during development of the F-16 Analog Test Station Sustainment (FATSS) project and how these principles can easily be applied to other development efforts.