Accelerated

testing

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 to 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 the applicability of the accepted most relevant failure model, assessment of the probability of failure

End point

Type, time, level 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