Different reliability testing and analysis techniques to achieve high product reliability are widely available today. However, performing such a comprehensive test plan is very costly and takes time. To determine which methodology to implement and at which stage in the product development stage could become very tricky. Is there a need to perform every test specified in MIL-STD-810F or in IEC 600068? How do we determine which test to perform and to what extent? One could either waste time and resources by doing too much testing or perform inadequate tests that fail to uncover most of the high risk failure modes and design weaknesses. This shortfall will result in product unreliability. More time and effort will then be spent on re-design or resolving customer returns, high warranty claims or product recall. This presentation will describe the different methodologies in reliability testing and analysis that ST Electronics (Satcom & Sensor Systems) is doing to assure product reliability. This presentation will also demonstrate at which stage in the development process these methodologies were implemented.

Key Words: Quantitative Accelerated Life Testing, Reliability Prediction, HALT, Environmental Qualification Testing, Statistical Analysis, ESS, HASS