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I-Connect007 is pleased to announce the release of Episode 7 of the “Meet the Author” podcast, featuring Bert Horner, president of The Test Connection, Inc., discussing his new book, The Printed Circuit Assembler's Guide to... Design for Test. In this conversation with Nolan Johnson, Horner explores what he calls the "Butterfly Effect" of Design for Test (DFT): Decisions made early in the design process can significantly influence manufacturing success, product reliability, and long-term profitability.
Rather than treating testability as a final manufacturing step, Horner explains why DFT must begin during schematic capture and PCB layout. As complex electronics feature finer geometries, higher component densities, and advanced packaging technologies, successful products depend on designing for effective inspection and test from the very beginning.
The discussion examines the practical strategies outlined in the book, including the role of boundary scan, built-in self-test (BIST), flying probe, in-circuit test (ICT), and functional testing as complementary tools within a comprehensive DFT strategy. Horner also introduces readers to the PCOLA-SOQ framework, a structured methodology for measuring inspection and test coverage at both the component and pin levels, providing manufacturers with objective metrics to evaluate product quality.
Beyond the technical aspects, Horner explains that successful DFT requires collaboration in engineering, manufacturing, quality, and management. By adopting layered test strategies and measurable coverage metrics, organizations can improve yields, reduce rework and field failures, accelerate time-to-market, and build more reliable products.
This episode is for PCB designers, manufacturing engineers, quality professionals, test engineers, and anyone involved in the development or production of electronic assemblies.
Listen to the episode here.
Download the book here.
About the Book
The Printed Circuit Assembler’s Guide to... Design for Test presents a practical roadmap for integrating DFT into PCB and CCA development, emphasizing early test strategy—during schematic capture and layout—rather than adding it after design completion.
About the Meet the Author Podcast
Meet the Author is I-Connect007's podcast series featuring conversations with today’s most prominent subject matter experts whose books are available in the I-Connect007 library.
