RE: Lessons learned during validation testing part 2 (do's and don'ts)

aspork42 — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 18:44:06 GMT

Nice write up. I had to create standard test templates at my current and my previous company to be sure things like that don't get missed. It seems that we would always forget things like the following:

1. Power the machine off then back on. Ensure that the new feature is still enabled.

2. Change and save a setpoint. Restart the software and verify that the setpoint is still correct. Power cycle the system and verify that the setpoint is still correct.

Power cycles and software restarts seemed to be a big problem area since they don't seem to get tested very often. We've shipped machines across the country only to realize that new settings are lost on power cycles (PLC), but not on simple program restarts (Windows programs).

Hardware testing was always difficult since the setups would always take forever to prepare. We were triggering a laser pointer to create defects on a high-speed vision system and capturing the 'defect' output pulse with a 4-channel scope. One channel on the defect trigger, one on the "Z" pulse of the system (printing press) and one on the 'defect' output. The test took about a day to get all set up and we would always forget some important test after we tore it all down...I found that we /could/ use standard template test cases and just adapt them every time as needed.