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Integration and test planning of embedded systems is a task often performed by industry experts. The reason for this is the multi-disciplinary nature of the embedded system, the complexity of the components and their environment and the volatility of the integration and test plan. The Tangram research project aims at reducing the integration and test duration of complex embedded systems, like ASML wafer scanners, without influencing the product quality or cost. Integration and test planning is one of the areas where model-based techniques and algorithms can reduce the integration and test duration. This paper presents a structured integration and test planning method including several improvement cycles. This method is applicable for multi-disciplinary systems and can be used to guide the modeling and optimization effort of industrial-size integration and test plans. This method has been used as a framework for our research into integration and test modeling, sequencing, planning and optimization.

Planning an integration and test phase is often done by experts in the visited organizations. These experts have a thorough knowledge about the system, integration and testing and the business drivers of an organization. An integration and test plan developedfor an airplane is different than the integration and test plan for a wafer scanner. Safety (quality) is most important for an airplane, while time-to-market is most important for a wafer scanner. These important aspects are reflected in the integration and test plan. A number of companies has been visited to investigate the influence of the business drivers on the resulting integration and test plans.