 Usability?
Take Microsoft’s word for it.
By Glenn Woppman
President and CEO
ASSET InterTech
When Microsoft talks, people listen. For the last two years, the company has been researching how its software is used. Now, a new “People Ready” campaign has broken. The point is, Microsoft studied the way people work and it has now tailored its products to make them as usable as possible.
None of this is as novel or as revolutionary as Microsoft would have us believe. It’s something we’ve been doing at ASSET for a long time. We just call it usability.
We’ve never settled for products that were simply easy-to-use because that conjures up an image of flashy graphics and point-and-click functionality. Certainly for consumer applications like word processing or a spreadsheet these characteristics are important, but for a JTAG tool like ScanWorks, which is used by test engineers and technicians, pretty graphics are just scratching the surface. Achieving a high level of usability means much more to us and to Microsoft, or so it seems.
 A quick look at one of Webster’s finest shows that usability means “convenient and practicable for use.” So, usability is broader than ease-of-use. For ASSET, it includes automation, accessibility to information when and where it’s needed, online support in both electronic and human form, re-use of information and tests, and much, much more.
Usability is really about the total overall user experience. How can we help you do your job in the most productive way possible? That’s what we’re always asking ourselves. Ease-of-use is part of the answer, but sometimes an ease-of-use feature doesn’t address the bigger picture, which takes in every aspect of your job. We’re more concerned about how effective and how efficient ScanWorks is whenever and wherever it is used. Of course, we don’t neglect the graphical user interface, but that’s just where we start. Where do we finish? Well, we’re not quite there yet. It’s a continuous journey and we are improving ScanWorks every step along the way with new technologies and innovations. Add to this the constant interaction we have with our customers and you can see why ScanWorks continues to get better and become more valuable to you, our customers.
A Sticky Interface
When designing or enhancing the ScanWorks graphical user interface (GUI) we’ve adopted the attitude that our users understand what they need or don’t need better than we do. For first-timers the ScanWorks GUI has an intuitive look-and-feel that will walk users through the entire process, but the GUI also has enough flexibility to get out of the way when a long-time power user knows exactly what needs to be done.
For example, the graphical ScanWorks Assistant provides step-by-step advice to new and occasional JTAG users. It explains all of the options the user has and anticipates many of the questions new users typically have about JTAG testing and in-system programming. Beginning with the initial configuration of the ScanWorks system, ScanWorks Assistant displays informative dialog boxes automatically at each step of test development and execution. Once the test engineer becomes more familiar with the overriding methodologies, ScanWorks Assistant can be turned off so the engineer has direct access to all of the powerful features of ScanWorks. If ScanWorks is only implemented from time to time, the occasional user may need a refresher snapshot to become re-acquainted with the tool and basic JTAG processes. Whatever the level of the user’s expertise, ScanWorks Assistant has something to offer.
Automation from Start to Finish
Once the user is ready to go beyond the graphical hand-holding of ScanWorks Assistant, there are a host of automation tools that not only make ScanWorks easy to use, but also automate the entire test generation, application and diagnostic process. Automation brings cost savings and increased productivity.
ASSET’s online device model libraries, for instance, are unmatched in the industry. Test coverage can be extended from JTAG devices to non-boundary-scan cluster devices as long as the cluster device is connected to a boundary scan device and characterization models of the cluster devices are added to the design’s ScanWorks database. Instead of relying on users to manually develop their own device models, ASSET’s extensive model libraries are available to all maintenance customers.
Ready-to-use device models certainly help automate test generation, but automating the test application is just as critical. ScanWorks has a number of test application tools, including its ability to define a test sequence made up of multiple test actions. A sequence combines several tests or programming actions in one seamless process that can be applied and executed with no manual intervention.
In addition, if a comprehensive test and programming suite involving several test technologies is being automated, ScanWorks has several tools such as scripting and a macro language that can easily combine JTAG processes with other test technologies. Combining JTAG test or programming operations with in-circuit test (ICT) systems, manufacturing defect analyzers (MDA) or flying probe testers (FPT) in an automated environment increases productivity and reduces the chance of human error. ScanWorks Process Automation Scripting is one example of such a tool.
Process Automation Scripting is a library of functions specifically designed for the execution of ScanWorks tests in a production setting. It features a complete National Instruments VI (Virtual Instrument) library that has native support for NI’s LabView™. It also features a Windows™ Dynamic Link Library (DLL) interface for easy integration into other third-party functional and environmental test tools based on NI’s TestStand and LabWindows/CVI™, Agilent VEE™, Visual Basic, C++, C# and others.
For more information on ScanWorks’ process automation capabilities, click here.
Web-based Usability
Because the World Wide Web is such a powerful medium, it has become inextricably involved with much of what test engineers do on a day-to-day basis. As a result, ScanWorks has taken advantage of the Web to automate various technical support services, enhancing the usability of the entire ScanWorks system.
The goal of the ScanWorks web-based systems is to deliver simple, easy-to-use support mechanisms when and where users need them. Rather than forcing users to leave the ScanWorks work they are doing to go to a certain site on the web so they can access support services, ScanWorks’ web-based tools deliver support where and when it is most useful. With one click of a mouse within ScanWorks, maintenance users can move seamlessly and quickly from ScanWorks to support services without putting their work on hold or retracing steps later when they’ve found an answer to their question.
To facilitate an effective flow back and forth between ScanWorks and web-based support there are several different access points within ScanWorks. This accelerates the learning process and makes the user more productive in a shorter period of time. For example, a user can click on the Maintenance Benefits selection in ScanWorks’ pull-down Help menu. Immediately, the user is taken to a support page on the ASSET web site where several on-line libraries for device models and training videos are available. The viewer can launch an educational video in a pop-up window, receive a brief refresher on a certain issue and then return immediately to his work where he can apply what he’s learned. In this way learning ScanWorks does not delay the adoption of boundary-scan technology. The two go hand-in-hand.
Beyond Ease-of-Use
It’s not easy making a system as powerful as ScanWorks easy-to-use. But going beyond what’s expected has been a hallmark of ASSET since its very beginning over a decade ago. Over this time we’ve learned that while many users are often attracted by the graphical content of the user interface, what really makes a difference in their day-to-day work is the functionality behind the icons and the other pretty graphics. While we will never neglect the graphical presentation of systems, we are just as committed to providing sophisticated functionality that enhances the overall usability of our products.
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