Accelerated

Test

type

Product development

testing (PDT)

Highly accelerated life testing

(HALT)

Qualification testing (QT)

Burn-in

testing

(BIT)

Failure oriented accelerated

testing (FOAT)

Objective

Technical feedback

to assure that the

taken design

approach is

acceptable

Ruggedize the product and assess its reliability

limits

Proof that the product meets the existing

reliability standard(s)

Eliminate the infant mortality portion of the bathtub curve

Understanding the physics of failure, checking applicability of the accepted failure model , assessing the probability of failure

End point

Type, time, level

and/or the number

of the observed

failures

Predetermined number or

percentage of

failures

Predetermined time

and/or the number of

cycles and/or excessive (unexpected) number

of failures

Predetermined time and/or loading level

Predetermined number

or percentage

(typically 50%)

of failure

Follow up

activity

Failure analysis,

design decision

Failure analysis

Pass/fail decision

Shipping of

sound devices

Probabilistic analysis

of the test data

Perfect test

Specific definitions

No failures in a long time

Numerous failures

in a short time