TABLE OF CONTENTS System test and evaluation (T&E) is a systems engineering management function that ensures that a coordinated and consistent testing effort is applied to the system for the entire system life cycle. By coordinating the test and evaluation from a system perspective, the focus and emphasis of the testing can be varied with different life-cycle phases without compromising the entire test and evaluation effort. T&E applies throughout the entire system life cycle and involves both the customer and the contractor.
A thorough evaluation of a system involves validating the system against the original customer requirements. Obviously, this validation cannot be completed until the entire system has been designed, developed, and constructed, and then operated in the intended operational environment by operational personnel. The aim of system test and evaluation is to test and evaluate the system progressively as it passes through the acquisition and utilization phases in order to avoid costly and time-consuming modifications to the system design late in the life cycle. With this in mind, progressive test and evaluation could be considered a risk-mitigation measure, as it provides a high degree of confidence early in the system life cycle that the design will ultimately perform as required.
Testing can be an expensive and time-consuming exercise that requires the use of specialized personnel, test equipment, and facilities. A formal plan is normally put into place very early in the acquisition phase to manage the system test and evaluation effort. This plan is the TEMP, and...
