Do DFT Tools have to be Automatic?
Unlike other, more expensive tools The Testability Director is not strictly automatic. The computer processes only the ranking, weighting and scoring of the testability achieved. Designers have to manually apply the techniques to appropriate parts of their designs. Does that disqualify it as a DFT tool? We don’t think so. Since designers are the ones who use the DFT tools at the urging of managers, they have to understand clearly what the tool intends for them to do. During the process, they learn the techniques that will help them on the next design. Test engineers, who initially assign the weights to each guideline, are also involved in the process. What we find most valuable about the tool is that it has accomplished what none of the other tools have. Tthey create a dialog between design engineers who make their designs testable and the test engineers who benefit from it. The Testability Director may not be the only tool that designers would use. DFT within EDAs, boundary-scan asses
