Advanced design for quality avionic systems: a new systems development guide

A team of Air Force, McDonnell Douglas Aerospace (MDA), and Hughes Aerospace and Electronics Company personnel has developed and is implementing a new avionics design and development-process that satisfies demands due to reduced budgets and manpower. The process is called Advanced Design for Quality Avionic Systems (ADQAS). It includes well-defined steps and a guide or roadmap to direct the efforts of Integrated Product Development (IPD) teams in designing and manufacturing avionics products. The teams tailor their processes to the product and measure progress against predetermined exit criteria for each phase. Several characteristics distinguish ADQAS from current approaches to avionics development. A systematic approach to requirements definition maintains traceability to customer needs and emphasizes a customer-defined balance of performance, supportability, and cost specific issues, such as diagnostics and testability requirements and manufacturing process definition, are also emphasized. Competing requirements are continuously refined and balanced through documented trade studies, where the impact of design decisions on subsystem and system characteristics is continuously assessed. The focus on balance continues throughout the preliminary and detail design phases. Definition of the manufacturing process and a clear characterization of its margin and variability parameters is required. Equipment design simultaneously emphasizes the capability for long-term operation in the user´s environment and the minimization of variability through the control of manufacturing processes. The product development, verification, and production phases continue the focus on careful verification of product and process attributes and on variability reduction. Implementation of the ADQAS process is underway on several F-15 development programs. Status and results achieved highlight the benefits which can be realized with this process