ADDRESSING THE TOP 5 FEARS ABOUT SUBCONTRACTING TEST SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Fear #1: Getting Started with a Third Party is Difficult

Fear #2: A Third-Party Solution Will Be Expensive and Add Time to the Schedule

Fear #3: How Can I Be Sure that I Will Receive a High-Quality Test System?

Fear #4: We Will Lose Control of the Process

Fear #5: The Handoff for the Final Deliverable Will Be Painful

Easing All Your Subcontracting Fears 9

INTRODUCTION

Sometimes it can be hard to imagine how it would be possible to work with anyone besides the

engineers in your company. After all, every company strives to hire the best and brightest engineers

for whatever applications or products they develop. While your employees are the most qualified

engineers for designing and developing your products, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are the

best fit for developing your test systems. Your engineers may not have the necessary hardware

and software expertise for designing and developing test systems, or they simply may not have the

availability to take on another project.

Oftentimes, a third-party company may be a better fit to help you build a reliable test and measurement

solution that can meet your stringent time and budget specifications without sacrificing technical

requirements. This whitepaper examines the five most common fears G Systems’ engineers typically

hear companies express when it comes to subcontracting test system development and how we lean

on our nearly three decades of experience to help address those fears.

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FEAR #1: GETTING STARTED WITH A THIRD PARTY IS DIFFICULT

Companies are often nervous to get started with a third party. One of the most common getting-started fears we hear is that many companies think they need to write extensive requirements documents to hand off to the third party, and writing requirements documents often seems like a daunting process. Many companies are not familiar with how to write requirements, or if they are familiar with requirements documents, they feel the documents need to be incredibly detailed or the job will not get done correctly.

G Systems has multiple plans in place to alleviate the common fear of writing requirements. First, if a customer has requirements in mind already, we can work closely with them to help put those requirements into writing. If a customer does not have requirements in mind, a second approach we can take is to act as consultants to help develop the requirements. We have a detailed set of questions that we walk through with clients that covers everything ranging from the general outline of the system to the details of test design and implementation, test system administration, and test execution.

For some companies, the need for agility or accelerated time-to-market may warrant a third approach that bypasses writing the initial requirements documents. This approach allows us to get started quickly on an hourly basis without defining everything that will be done up front. This agile approach enables the customer to develop and change requirements as the project progresses.

FEAR #2: A THIRD-PARTY SOLUTION WILL BE EXPENSIVE AND ADD TIME TO THE SCHEDULE

We often hear that companies believe working with a third party is extremely expensive and it will take a long time to see a finished deliverable. When it comes to costs, oftentimes companies are not considering the true costs of internal development. Test system development does not just include the material costs to build the system and the hourly rates of employees for development. The total costs of test system development also include:

G Systems has a detailed set of questions that makes the process of determining automated test system requirements more manageable. Contact us to access the full checklist.

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• Indirect and opportunity costs of taking employees off projects theyare better suited for

• Training and learning costs for an employee to learn the softwareor hardware development tools needed to create the test system

• Costs of architecting the system in a way that is sustainable aswell as long-term maintenance and support costs

Additionally, we have seen that many of our customers have much higher overhead expenses, even for simple tasks like purchasing materials.

When considering the costs of working with a third party versus developing a test system internally, be sure to evaluate all these internal costs to ensure you have an accurate comparison. We regularly receive feedback from customers that it would have cost three times as much to develop the same system internally that we delivered to them.

Regarding timing, a third party is fully dedicated to test system development and does not need to worry about keeping product development moving in parallel with the test system. A third-party test system developer is also already fully trained on all the tools it takes to develop a test system. Thus, the development process is typically faster and more efficient than it would be if it were done in house. Some of our customers have said it would take twice as long to develop the same system in house.

FEAR #3: HOW CAN I BE SURE THAT I WILL RECEIVE A HIGH-QUALITY TEST SYSTEM?

When it comes to the quality of a third-party developed test system, we often hear the following questions from organizations:

• Will the third party feel as passionate about the project and be ascareful as our own employees?

• Will the results be as good as if I did it myself?

• How can I have confidence in the engineers being assigned tomy project?

There are several ways G Systems mitigates these concerns. In general, we have extensive experience developing test systems and we bring the wisdom needed to create test systems that assure the

Test system development does not just include the material costs to build the system and the hourly rates of employees for development.

Hiring a third party that specializes in test system design is often more efficient and less

expensive overall than developing in house.

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highest quality end product at the lowest testing costs. We have a team of tenured, multi-disciplined engineers and technicians who work in a culture of collaboration, proven best practices, and transparency. Our engineers are also certified in the tools we use most frequently. For example, all of our LabVIEW programmers are either Certified LabVIEW Developers or Certified LabVIEW Architects.

Another reason we can consistently develop high-quality systems is because our staff is laser focused on developing test and measurement systems. We do not have to worry about all the other things, like product development, that our customers have to. Therefore, by subcontracting your test systems, your engineers are free to get more work done on their actual jobs of product development and testing rather than spending time developing test systems.

We also have more time to provide thorough documentation for the systems we develop since this is what we specialize in. If your test needs require a complex system, we will deliver a complete drawing package detailing every aspect of the system and how to rebuild it if need be. Our goal is always that no information is lost as we hand off the test system.

Additionally, to ensure the highest quality and that the system functions as specified, we develop a written acceptance test procedure (ATP) using the initial test requirements and input from the customer. The ATP is performed at the end of the test system development to assure that all requirements have been met.

We have extensive experience developing test systems and we bring the wisdom needed to create test systems that assure the highest quality end product at the lowest testing costs.

G Systems proven Acceptance Test Procedure ensures that the system functions as specified.

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FEAR #4: WE WILL LOSE CONTROL OF THE PROCESS

Companies often fear that by passing off work to a third party they will be out of the loop and no longer have control of their system design and development. At G Systems, we know every company is different, so we do not promote a one-size-fits-all approach to client involvement in projects. Instead, we want to ensure our clients feel as involved, or as hands-off, as they want to be.

We won’t run off and work in a silo only appearing again when we deliver your test system. We want to keep our customers in touch with the project and ensure them along the way that we are meeting their requirements. To achieve this, we often recommend weekly calls, web meetings, or in-person meetings to discuss project status and clarify project details as well as perform formal design reviews. During these meetings, clients can approve design decisions before implementation or approve a material order before we place it. At the customer’s request, we can even work together with our customers on development of some, or all, of the system.

We also believe in open communication and do not want our customers to fear they will be constantly hit with engineering change orders because they suggest a new concept or feature. Some changes may actually result in less work or material, which we use to offset changes that require more time or material without resulting in an increase in cost to you. We can also gather, or sometimes absorb, small changes during the project and only require a change order when the accumulative changes rise above a certain threshold.

We won’t run off and work in a silo only appearing again when we deliver your test system. We want to keep our customers in touch with the project and ensure them along the way that we are meeting their requirements.

We work with our customers to ensure they feel as involved, or as hands-off, as they want to be.

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On a more personal level, there are two common fears many engineers experience when considering bringing in a third party: “My job may be at risk” or “If I don’t work on this myself, I will lose valuable experience.” However, the opposite is often true; we have seen many cases where the person who led the initiative to work with the third party actually accelerated their value within the company more quickly than if they tried to do the work on their own. For example, we had a customer at a large global company who was promoted to lead a global test team due to the success he experienced by bringing in G Systems to jumpstart his initial concept for test platform improvements.

FEAR #5: THE HANDOFF FOR THE FINAL DELIVERABLE WILL BE PAINFUL

When a project wraps up, there are several fears we often hear from companies including:

• They think they will be “stuck” with the third-party companyforever, or on the opposite end of the spectrum, they worry they will be on their own and struggling with the system without adequate help

• A lack of continuity, especially to support the system

• Loss of intellectual property

Just like our approach during development where we want our clients to be as hands-on or as hands-off as they would like, when we finish a project we want to make sure our customers have the level of support they need.

We can deliver as much, or as little, post-deployment support as our customers want. This might range from our team continuing to work on all future system changes to training a company’s engineers on how to make changes to the system, or anything in between. For example, we’ve had customers who wanted to perform TestStand sequence development after deployment, so we trained their engineers on how to write sequences and do the development themselves.

Typically, we can perform maintenance and engineer-level training, not just user training. Or, we can provide on-going maintenance contracts where we maintain the system long term if a customer does not want to support it internally.

We have seen many cases where the person who led the initiative to work with the third party actually accelerated their value within the company more quickly than if they tried to do the work on their own.

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We also offer customers a comprehensive warranty. Once we complete the ATP with a client, if the client finds something that is not right with the system within the warranty period we will come back and fix it at no additional cost. We strongly believe in the concept that we are not going to let our customers “fall off the bike” once we let go.

Additionally, we often hear general fears around continuity and abandonment once a system is complete. A lot of companies fear that if they work with a third-party company, it will no longer be around in a few years. But that is not a concern with G Systems. Our company has been in business for nearly 30 years, and we aren’t going away any time soon.

Unlike some system integration companies, we employ salaried staff that work on our projects rather than a team of contractors that might leave when a project is complete. We are also proud of our excellent employee tenure. Most likely, the engineers that designed your system will be the individuals who also support the system for years to come. As a result, 80 percent of our business is from repeat customers.

Additionally, we know customers are afraid of losing IP when bringing in a third-party company. Thus, for design-build projects, we provide full documentation packages as well as software source code. This practice enables our customers to make future changes themselves after deployment or even engage another third party to come in and work on the system if they want.

G Systems is there for our clients long after the test system is complete with a wide range of post-deployment support services.

Unlike some system integration companies, we employ salaried staff that work on our projects rather than a team of contractors that might leave when a project is complete.

ABOUT G SYSTEMSBased near Dallas, Texas, G Systems works with engineers and program managers in the aerospace, defense, and energy industries to create reliable test and measurement solutions. With decades of experience designing and building test systems for these highly regulated industries, G Systems overcomes complex electrical, mechanical, and RF test system challenges by identifying optimal COTS test technology, tailoring platforms, and leveraging proven expertise to achieve each customer’s technical, time, and budget specifications.

For more than 25 years, G Systems has been a National Instruments Alliance Partner.

G Systems, L.P.1240 E. Campbell Road, Suite 100Richardson, TX 75081972-234-6000

info@gsystems.comwww.gsystems.com

EASING YOUR SUBCONTRACTING FEARS

If your company is struggling to develop a test system but reluctant to subcontract development to a third party, we get it. Whether your fears about subcontracting include how to get started with a third party, not wanting to relinquish control, or you’re nervous about how the system will be handed off to your company at the end, G Systems can help ease all these fears.

With nearly three decades of experience designing and building test systems, including many for highly regulated industries, G Systems excels at overcoming complex system challenges and building systems to specific requirements that meet your exact technical, time, and budget specifications. Since we specialize in test system design and development, when working with us our customers can do what they do best—product development and test execution—and we can do for you what we do best—test system development. Together, we can efficiently build the most reliable and cost-effective test systems to meet all your testing needs.

GETTING STARTEDContact us to learn out how G Systems can work with you to create test systems that meet your demands, mitigate your risk, and exceed your expectations.

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