A Quick Snapshot — What Brought Us Here?

• Briefly describe the program or issue that prompted this evaluation (new ramp, yield excursion, capacity shortfall, other).
• Which site(s) and product families are in scope for this potential change? Options: Wafer probe (site A), Final package test (site B), Multiple sites across regions, Single package family, Multiple device families, Other
• Roughly how many units/month do you expect this program to produce at peak? Options: <10k, 10k–50k, 50k–200k, 200k–1M, >1M
• Who on your team should be involved in these early conversations (names and roles)?
• What outcome would make this discovery session feel like a high-value use of your time?

Are You Quietly Accepting Hidden Costs?

• If nothing changes, what new or recurring costs do you expect to see in the next 6–12 months? Options: Higher cost-per-device, Overtime/contract labor, Additional tester leases, Line slowdowns, Increased returns/warranty, Other
• Where do you feel your current test strategy is most likely masking a failure mode or margin erosion?
• How often in the last 12 months have you experienced a production disruption traceable to tester limitations (correlation, site count, or test time)? Options: Monthly, Quarterly, Twice a year, Once a year, Never
• Tell us about a recent incident where test capability—or lack of it—affected shipment, yields, or customer returns.
• On a scale from 1–10, how confident are you that current testers would detect the next unknown failure mode? Why did you pick that number? Options: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Who Really Decides — And Who’s Left Out?

• List the formal decision-makers for capital purchases of this scale (roles and, if possible, names).
• Who influences those decisions from engineering, operations, and procurement—people whose objections can stop a deal even if they don't sign? Options: Test Engineering Lead, VP Operations, Procurement/Category Manager, Finance/FP&A, Quality/Failure Analysis, Plant Manager, Other
• Which stakeholder is most likely to push back on replacing legacy testers, and what is their primary concern?
• Who needs to see performance data (test time, correlation, site count) to feel comfortable approving a migration? Options: Test Engineering, Operations/Production, Procurement, Finance, Quality, Executive Sponsor
• Are there procurement frameworks or preferred vendors lists that could speed or slow approval? Please name them.
• Would an executive-level business case (cost-per-device ROI, footprint savings, risk avoidance) be required for sign-off? Options: Yes, mandatory, Useful but not required, Not required, Unsure

What 'Good' Looks Like for Each Team

• If test engineering could write the perfect acceptance criteria, what three metrics would be non-negotiable (e.g., correlation, limit reproducibility, support for measurements)?
• From operations’ perspective, which outcome matters most: test time reduction, site density, smaller footprint, or simplified maintenance? Options: Test time reduction, Higher site count, Smaller test-cell footprint, Lower maintenance headcount, Simpler operator workflows
• What procurement constraints or contractual terms does your team insist on (warranty length, spare-part SLAs, milestone payments)? Options: Standard warranty (1 year), Extended warranty (3+ years), Spares on-site SLA, Milestone-based payments, Performance bonds, Other
• How will Quality/FA judge success — tighter correlation to bench, fewer escapes to field, or improved failure-mode visibility? Options: Correlation to bench, Reduced field returns, Faster root-cause, Higher data fidelity, Other
• Imagine a dashboard that tells each team they 'won'—what one headline would appear for test engineering, operations, and procurement respectively?

Timeline Reality Check — Are You on a Countdown?

• When does capacity pressure or the next product ramp make this decision absolutely critical (target go-live / worst-case deadline)? Options: Immediately (0–1 month), Within 3 months, 3–6 months, 6–12 months, >12 months
• What is the latest acceptable date for deployment before you risk losing revenue or incurring overtime/outsourcing costs?
• How flexible is that date—could you tolerate a phased rollout or must everything swap in a single window? Options: Phased rollout acceptable, Single-swap only, Prefer phased but flexible, Unsure
• How much planned production downtime (hours or days) would your operations team consider a deal-breaker? Options: None, <8 hours, 8–24 hours, 1–3 days, >3 days
• Who is responsible for coordinating production windows and what is their escalation path if a trial overruns?

Show Me the Money — Budget Authority and Procurement Realities

• Has a budget been approved or allocated for this equipment? If so, how much (range is fine)? Options: No budget yet, < $250k, $250k–$1M, $1M–$5M, > $5M
• Who must approve CAPEX and what internal documentation do they require (business case, TCO, pilot results)?
• Would you consider leasing, capacity-as-a-service, or a phased capital approach if it accelerated deployment? Options: Yes — leasing, Yes — service model, Yes — phased CAPEX, No preference, Not open to alternatives
• What procurement timelines typically apply once an executive approves (RFP, vendor evaluation, PO issuance)? Options: 2–4 weeks, 1–2 months, 3–4 months, 4–6 months, 6+ months
• Are there internal cost thresholds that push decision-making from site to corporate finance or board review? Options: Yes, site-level cap, Yes, corporate-level cap, Yes, board-level cap, No centralized thresholds, Unsure

Migration & Risk — How Much Risk Will You Tolerate?

• If a new tester required re-establishing limits for a critical test, how much rework (hours/man-days) would test engineering expect to dedicate? Options: <1 week, 1–2 weeks, 2–4 weeks, 4–8 weeks, >8 weeks
• What are your non-negotiable risk controls to avoid production disruption during migration? Options: Parallel qualification runs, Rollback plan to legacy, Staggered device migration, Test program freeze windows, On-site vendor engineers
• Which failure modes would be catastrophic if missed during transition (safety-critical, customer-specific rejects, yield killers)? Please list examples.
• How much vendor involvement on-site (days/week or full-time) will you require during lab and floor trials? Options: Remote only, Intermittent on-site, Dedicated on-site support, Vendor-run trials
• What contingency budget or SLA terms would make you comfortable proceeding (spare parts, rapid exchange, credits for missed milestones)?

Evaluation: What Evidence Will Convince You?

• What specific metrics must an evaluation demonstrate to earn a recommendation (delta test time, site count, correlation error, coverage %)?
• Who must sign off on evaluation results (roles), and what format do they prefer—formal report, dashboard, joint lab session, or executive summary? Options: Formal technical report, Live lab demo, Executive summary + metrics, Dashboard access, Joint workshop
• How many representative test programs and device SKUs must be shown during evaluation to feel statistically confident? Options: 1–2 SKUs, 3–5 SKUs, 6–10 SKUs, >10 SKUs
• What correlation tolerance to bench or golden tester would be acceptable before you’d ask for rework or reject the platform? Options: Within 1%, Within 2–5%, Within 5–10%, Subjective review required
• Would you require a pilot production run before full acceptance, and if so, how long should that pilot run be? Options: No pilot, Short pilot (1–2 days), Week-long pilot, Month-long pilot, Custom length

Commitment Signals — What Would Make This a 'Yes'?

• If we could guarantee a specific test-time reduction or site-count improvement, which commitment mechanism would you prefer to bridge residual risk (performance SLAs, acceptance milestones, money-back trial)? Options: Performance SLA, Milestone acceptance payments, Money-back trial, Extended warranty, On-site engineer support
• What internal approvals would you expect us to help prepare (cost-benefit slide, technical appendix, pilot plan)? Options: Business case slide deck, Technical migration appendix, Pilot/test protocol, procurement checklist, All of the above
• Who on your side would be the executive sponsor we can engage to accelerate decision-making?
• What would be an acceptable next step after this discovery meeting (R&D lab demo, on-site workshop, quote, pilot schedule)? Options: On-site workshop, R&D lab demo, Formal quote, Pilot schedule, Technical deep-dive
• What's the best way and timing to follow up with materials and a proposed next meeting? (preferred contact, days/times)

Quick Snapshot: Where Your Test Floor Is Today

• Before we dive deep, which single metric do you and leadership watch most closely on the test floor right now? Options: Cost-per-device, Test time per device, Throughput (devices/hour), Yield (final pass rate), Site count utilization, Other
• How many active test cells are in production today, and roughly what percent are used for production versus validation?
• Across those cells, what is your typical devices-per-hour throughput (average) for a high-volume product? Options: <100 devices/hr, 100–500 devices/hr, 500–2,000 devices/hr, >2,000 devices/hr, Varies by product
• List the tester models/vendors on your floor and the approximate age of each class of tester.
• Which test modalities occupy most of your test time today? Options: Digital/Functional, Analog, Mixed-signal, RF, Parametric, Wafer probe, Final package, Burn-in

If Your Tester Could Talk, What Would It Confess?

• What surprise would your testers admit to leadership today—hidden slowdowns, intermittent failures, or a growing maintenance backlog?
• Which recurring failure modes cause the most test aborts, re-tests, or unexplained rejects? Options: Contact/probe/socket issues, Timing mismatches, Instrument drift/accuracy loss, Thermal-related failures, Software hangs/crashes, Power instability, Other
• How much unscheduled downtime does a typical tester experience per month (select best range)? Options: <1 hour, 1–4 hours, 4–12 hours, 12–24 hours, >24 hours, Don't track
• When one of those failures occurs, what is the typical time-to-diagnose and then time-to-repair (describe both)?
• Roughly what share of downtime is caused by consumable wear (probes, contactors) versus systemic/electrical/software issues? Options: Mostly consumables, Mostly systemic issues, About half/half, Don't know

The Hidden Costs Nobody Likes to Add Up

• If you priced every minute your testers sit idle or require a re-test, where would that expense move your product margin?
• What is your current estimated cost-per-device (USD)? Please include the top two contributing drivers.
• Which of these factors materially drive your test cost today? Options: Test time per device, Site count limitations, Re-test / rework, Yield loss / escapes, Floor space / cleanroom rental, Power & cooling, Test engineering labor, Software licensing & maintenance
• How would a 10% reduction in average test time per device affect your margin—select your best estimate? Options: >10% margin improvement, 5–10% margin improvement, 1–5% margin improvement, Negligible change, Unsure
• Do you currently track total cost of ownership (capex + maintenance + floor cost) by tester family or product line? Options: Yes, rigorously, Yes, but loosely, No, not currently

When Tests Miss a Fault: The Real Consequences

• Tell us about the worst customer-facing failure your test strategy failed to catch — what happened and who felt the impact?
• How often do escape events (customer returns, field failures, credits) occur per million devices for your most critical product? Options: <1 PPM, 1–10 PPM, 10–100 PPM, >100 PPM, Don't track
• Which failure modes most commonly escape detection on your current floor? Options: Analog parameter drift, Intermittent timing issues, AC coupling anomalies, Leakage/current outliers, RF performance outliers, Packaging-related faults, Other
• What is the typical business impact when an escape occurs (include rework cost, customer credits, warranty overhead, lost production)?
• How confident are you in the correlation between bench characterization/engineering data and floor test results? Options: Very confident, Somewhat confident, Concerned / inconsistent, We rarely compare

What You Wish Your Test Programs Could Do, But Don't

• If you could add one capability to your test programs overnight, what single thing would move the needle most for throughput or yield?
• How many distinct test programs do you actively maintain across product lines (approximate)? Options: 1–5, 6–20, 21–50, 51–100, 100+
• On average, how many person-days does it take to migrate a program to a new tester? Options: <3 days, 3–10 days, 10–30 days, >30 days, Varies widely / unknown
• Which parts of program migration create the biggest bottlenecks for you? Options: Pin mapping & fixture design, Instrument equivalence & correlation, Test flow rework, Software integration, Verification & characterization, Test vector translation
• Do you maintain a 'golden' bench reference for correlation? If yes, describe how it is used and who owns it.

Who Owns the Risk If Things Slip?

• If a new tester caused a week of unplanned downtime, who would be held accountable and how is that decision reached today?
• Who currently signs off on test limits and final acceptance thresholds for production? Options: Test engineering director, VP of Operations, Quality/Metrology, Customer QA, Cross-functional committee, Other
• Which teams must be engaged during an evaluation and migration to avoid surprises? Options: Test engineering, Operations / floor supervisors, Procurement, Quality, Field/repair, Product engineering, Customer representatives
• How available are your test engineers to support migration work without disrupting production? Options: Fully available, Partially available (with backfill), Very limited availability, Not available
• If acceptance criteria are not met during a trial, what is your escalation and decision path (describe steps and stakeholders)?

Imagining a Smoother Ramp: What Would Change Overnight?

• Imagine test time drops 20% and site count doubles tomorrow — what would that change for your factory operations, margins, and customer commitments?
• What specific throughput, downtime, and correlation targets would make a new platform a clear 'go' for you?
• Which KPIs will your executive team demand during an evaluation? Options: Test time per device, Devices/hour (throughput), Yield impact (PPM), Correlation to bench, Floor space reduction, Power per test cell, Cost-per-device
• How long of an evaluation window do you consider acceptable before making a capital decision? Options: 2–4 weeks, 4–8 weeks, 8–12 weeks, 3+ months
• Are there any non-negotiables for transition (e.g., zero-production-impact windows, matched limits, approved rollback plan)? List them.

Small Steps to Reduce Risk: Practical Next Moves

• What is the smallest, least risky test or product you could move to a new platform that would demonstrate measurable value?
• Do you have sample devices, golden test programs, and bench characterization data ready for an evaluation? If not, what’s missing? Options: All ready, Missing samples, Missing golden programs, Missing bench data, Multiple items missing
• Which of the following support elements would most accelerate a clean evaluation? Options: Dedicated onsite engineer, Pre-migration pin mapping, Bench correlation plan, Acceptance checklist, Loaner hardware, Defined rollback window
• What is your capital approval timeline and earliest feasible start date for a trial? Options: <3 months, 3–6 months, 6–12 months, >12 months, Unsure
• Who should be on the next planning call to make decisions quickly (names/roles)?

Quick Introductions — who’s in the room?

• Who will be our primary day-to-day contact for deployment and migration activity? Options: Test Engineering Director, VP Operations, Production Manager, Process Engineer, Site Manager, Other (please name)
• Which product line(s) and device family(ies) are in scope for this deployment?
• When does your production ramp for these devices begin (month / quarter / year)? Options: Immediate / within 1 month, 1–3 months, 3–6 months, 6–12 months, More than 12 months, Unsure
• Roughly how many devices per week (or units/time) do you expect to test on the new platform at steady state?
• Which site(s) and cleanroom/test-floor locations will participate in the trials or roll-out?

If this goes sideways, who rings the alarm?

• If the new tester forced one full production shift to stop, what immediate business impacts would you expect (costs, missed shipments, customer penalties)?
• Which past migration or test-change incidents caused the most pain, and what specifically broke or took longest to recover?
• How quickly can your team detect a correlation or test-escape issue after go-live? Options: Within hours, Within 1 business day, 1–3 business days, More than 3 days, Unsure
• Who at your site has the authority to pause production or order an immediate rollback? Options: Site Manager, VP Operations, Test Engineering Director, Quality Manager, Cross-functional committee, Other (please name)
• Which operational controls do you already use to prevent production-impacting issues during trials? Options: Dedicated pilot line, Off-hours trials only, Quarantine lots/segregation, Rollback plan to legacy testers, Extra on-call engineers, No controls in place, Other (describe)

What’s actually running inside your test programs?

• How confident are you that your existing test programs will behave identically on an instrument-per-pin platform without functional changes? Options: Very confident, Somewhat confident, Doubtful — expect changes, Not confident at all, Unsure
• List the top three test-program complexities that worry you most (e.g., mixed-signal ADC characterization, high-speed timing, power-sequencing dependencies).
• How many distinct programs, device variants, or SKUs will need migration and validation? Options: 1–5, 6–20, 21–50, 51–200, 200+
• What languages, formats, or vendor-specific dialects are your programs written in (ATE dialects, LabVIEW, Python wrappers, etc.)?
• Who owns each program (names/roles) and how long does it typically take them to onboard a migrated program for verification?

Who will do the heavy lifting — and can they?

• If your engineering team had to own migration work, what percentage of their time can be dedicated to this over the next 3 months? Options: 0–10%, 10–25%, 25–50%, 50–75%, 75–100%
• How many engineers (by discipline: test, firmware, production support) can you assign full-time and part-time?
• Which skills are scarce or single-threaded on your team that could become a bottleneck? Options: ATE scripting, Fixture/mechanical design, Correlation analysis, RF/high-speed expertise, Power sequencing expertise, Thermal/chamber integration, Other (please specify)
• Do you have backfill or cross-training plans so production support isn’t degraded during migration? Options: Yes — documented plan, Yes — informal backup, No, but planning to, No
• Which model do you prefer for migration execution? Options: Vendor-led (hands-off by customer), Joint team (vendor + customer engineers), Customer-led with vendor advisory, Undecided

Samples, access, and security — laying ground rules

• If we request sample units and controlled lab access, what would you immediately approve and what would you immediately decline?
• What sample quantities and variants can you supply for bench characterization and floor trials? Options: <10 per variant, 10–50, 51–200, 201–1000, 1000+
• Will trials occur in an approved lab environment or directly on the production floor? Options: Dedicated lab only, Production floor only, Start in lab then move to floor, Depends on device/phase, Undecided
• What legal, security, or compliance constraints apply to device handling and connectivity (select all that apply)? Options: NDA in place, ITAR/export controls, Air-gapped networks, Restricted access / badge control, No special constraints, Other (describe)
• Who in IT/security will approve connectivity, and what is their typical approval lead time?

What does success have to look like?

• If we walked away after deployment, what single, measurable outcome would make you say the project succeeded?
• Which metrics matter most to you (select up to three)? Options: Test time per device, Multi-site (site count) throughput, Correlation to bench characterization, False-fail rate, Cost per device, Floor space / test-cell footprint, Other (specify)
• State your acceptance thresholds (examples: % test-time reduction target, allowable correlation delta, max additional escapes).
• Which devices or failure modes must be validated before any go/no-go decision?
• Who will sign the acceptance report and what format do they require (test logs, correlation plots, signed protocol)? Options: Test Engineering Sign-off, Quality/QA Sign-off, Operations/Production Sign-off, Procurement/Finance, Executive Sponsor, Multiple — describe

Troubleshooting and rollback — the emergency playbook

• Which immediate actions would you expect if a trial reveals a critical correlation gap or increased escapes? Options: Halt production, Isolate suspected lots, Revert tests to legacy testers, Tighten interim limits, Run accelerated characterization, Other (explain)
• Who has the authority to order the rollback and how quickly can they act?
• How fast can legacy tester capacity be brought back online if needed? Options: Within hours, Same shift, 1–2 days, 3–5 days, Longer than 5 days, Unsure
• What spares, adapters, fixtures, or consumables must be on-site before we begin trials?
• Describe your lot quarantine, traceability, and disposition process for suspect devices.

Timeline, approvals, and the paperwork that matters

• What single gating item usually stalls capital or deployment approvals at your company? Options: Budget approval, Engineering validation, Procurement terms, QA acceptance, Executive sponsor alignment, Other (specify)
• Which committees and approval milestones should we prepare materials for (select all that apply)? Options: Engineering validation board, Quality/QA committee, Procurement, Finance/CapEx committee, Executive sponsor review, Site operations review, Other
• Once engineering signs off, what is your typical procurement/PO lead time? Options: <2 weeks, 2–4 weeks, 1–3 months, 3–6 months, 6+ months, Unsure
• Which documents or evidence are non-negotiable for approvals (benchmark reports, acceptance protocol, liability clauses)?
• Who are the executive sponsors or budget holders we should engage, and what are their top concerns?

Open concerns, communication cadence, and next steps

• What single unanswered question would make you hesitate to start a lab or floor trial?
• What trade-offs are unacceptable (for example: any increase in escapes, more than X hours of downtime, losing legacy diagnostics)?
• How would you prefer we communicate issues during trials (select all that apply)? Options: Real-time dashboard / alerts, Daily stand-up calls, Ad-hoc engineering calls, Weekly executive summary, Email digests only, Other (specify)
• Are there internal stakeholders likely to push back we should proactively brief? If so, who and why?
• Would you be open to a short pilot in a dedicated lab (limited SKUs) as a low-risk path to executive approval? Options: Yes — prefer pilot, Maybe — depends on scope, No — prefer full floor trial, Undecided

Quick Snapshot: Where Are You Today?

• What's the primary reason you're engaging with new test equipment right now? Options: New product ramp exceeding capacity, Yield excursion / escape issue, Consolidate legacy testers, Floor-space / cost pressure, Supportability / obsolescence, Other
• Who on your team ultimately owns the cost-per-device / throughput metric and makes the recommendation on tester purchases? Options: Test Engineering Director, VP of Operations, Plant/Factory Manager, Finance/CFO, Procurement Lead, Cross-functional committee, Other
• What is your target timeframe for resolving this (when must capacity or detection capability change)? Options: Within 3 months, 3–6 months, 6–12 months, More than 12 months, Unsure
• Which tester models and approximate number of test cells are currently running the product families in scope?
• Roughly how many devices per month (or per ramp) will be impacted by this change? Options: <10k, 10k–100k, 100k–1M, 1M–10M, >10M, Unsure
• How would you describe the team sentiment about this problem right now? Options: Urgent / anxious, Frustrated / resigned, Confident we can manage, Actively looking for change, Waiting for exec direction

Are We Just Living With It?

• What have you been tolerating on the test floor because it’s seen as 'how we always do it'?
• Which workarounds currently mask the limited capability of your testers? Options: Serial multiplexing with longer test time, Multiple separate testers in series, Manual bench correlation after failures, Extra burn-in or screening, Over-provisioning tester count, Operator-heavy procedures, Other
• How frequently do those workarounds cause missed ship dates, rework, or emergency capacity buys? Options: Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Rarely, Never
• Tell me about a recent incident where a tester limitation directly caused lost revenue, an urgent engineering scramble, or a customer return.
• How long has the team accepted these constraints as 'normal'—is this a new pressure or a chronic issue? Options: A few months, 1–2 years, 3–5 years, 5+ years, Varies by product

Where the Money Actually Leaks

• If you had to point to the single biggest leak in per-device margin tied to test, where would you start?
• What is your current target and your actual cost-per-device (range or figure)?
• Which cost components worry you most when you model ROI for new equipment? Options: Test time (minutes/device), Low site count (parallelism), Yield escapes / returns, Retest and rework, Floor space / rental cost, Maintenance & downtime, Program migration effort
• How much of your testing spend is expected to be CapEx versus ongoing OpEx over the next 3 years? Options: Mostly CapEx, Mostly OpEx, Even split, Undefined / depends on deal
• What ROI or payback horizon does your finance team require for equipment of this magnitude? Options: <12 months, 12–24 months, 24–36 months, >36 months, Unsure

When Tests Miss: The Hidden Risks

• What failure modes worry you that your current tester might be blind to?
• Have you been able to trace field returns or customer complaints back to a detectable electrical signature that existing ATE missed? Options: Yes—confirmed signature, Suspect but not proven, No traceability, Not monitored
• When you run correlation against bench characterization, what is the typical discrepancy you see? Options: Within spec / consistent, Small shift requiring limit adjustment, Large mismatch requiring recharacterization, Correlation not routinely performed
• Describe how test escapes translate into real business impact (returns, warranty, customer escalations) — can you quantify or give examples?
• How confident are your engineers in instrument accuracy at temperature extremes, high speed, and full pin-count loads? Options: Very confident, Somewhat confident, Not confident, Don't know / not measured

If Everything Worked Perfectly

• Imagine every device leaves test faster and with fewer escapes — what would that change about your daily operations or team morale?
• Which KPIs would you use to declare the project a success at 90 days, 6 months, and 12 months?
• Which outcomes matter most to your stakeholders? Options: Reduced test time, Higher site count (parallelism), Improved failure detection / lower escapes, Smaller test-cell footprint, Lower maintenance burden, Faster program migration, Better vendor support & training
• Quantify the improvements you’d need to see (for example, % reduction in test time, sites per head target, ppm escape reduction).
• If those targets were achieved, how would capital planning, pricing, or customer commitments change?

What Would It Take to Pull the Trigger?

• What is the single non-negotiable obstacle that would stop procurement or execs from approving a new tester?
• Which stakeholders must sign off on a purchase and what matters most to each of them? Options: Test Engineering Director, VP of Operations, Procurement, Finance/CFO, Quality/Manufacturing, Executive Sponsor, Other
• What kind of evidence will move each stakeholder (detailed ROI, lab correlation, floor trial results, executive briefing)? Options: Detailed ROI model, Lab-to-bench correlation, Floor trial data, Executive summary & risk analysis, Customer reference visits, Other
• How long is your typical procurement cycle from evaluation to signed PO for equipment like this? Options: <3 months, 3–6 months, 6–12 months, >12 months, Varies by business unit
• Which commercial structures would materially increase your willingness to pilot or buy (e.g., milestone payments, risk-sharing, performance guarantees)? Options: Milestone-based payments, Performance guarantees / SLAs, Pilot at reduced price, On-site vendor engineers included, Training & knowledge transfer commitment, Other

How Much Pain Is Too Much?

• How much production downtime for migration and validation is acceptable before it becomes a showstopper? Options: None (must be seamless), <1 day per line, 1–3 days, >3 days, Depends on schedule
• What are your acceptable limits for failed devices during an evaluation or pilot? Options: 0 ppm, <1 ppm, <10 ppm, <100 ppm, Depends on test type
• Who will own production risk decisions during trials—test engineering, operations, quality, or a committee? Options: Test Engineering, Operations, Quality, Cross-functional committee, Other
• Describe the contingency plan you'd expect if a swap-over causes unexpected production impact.
• Which vendor-driven risk mitigations would make you most comfortable? Options: On-site vendor engineers, Parallel testing until stable, Rollback procedures & spare capacity, Financial penalties for missed milestones, Comprehensive operator training, Other

The Minimum Win: What the Evaluation Must Prove

• What single test or metric, if proven in-lab, would be decisive in your decision to proceed?
• Which of the following must be demonstrated during evaluation? Options: Correlation to bench data, Measured test-time reduction, Stable multi-site operation, Instrument accuracy across temp/speed, Smooth program migration with existing DUT vectors, Operator training sufficiency
• How many devices, lots, or hours of runtime do you require to validate correlation and stability? Options: A few units, Single lot, Multiple lots over several days, Full production run, Unsure
• What exact acceptance thresholds must be met (e.g., max % variance vs bench, target test time, site uptime)?
• Who will be responsible for evaluating results and signing the final acceptance form? Options: Test Engineering Lead, Operations Manager, Quality Engineer, Project Sponsor / Exec

Next Steps & Mutual Commitments

• If we designed a proof-of-value that matched your constraints, what would you expect us to commit to upfront?
• Which of these commercial or operational commitments would make you more likely to run a pilot? Options: Clear milestones & acceptance criteria, Milestone-based payment, Dedicated on-site support, Pilot at reduced cost, Performance SLA, Escrow for test programs, Training & documentation
• What timeline would you need for kickoff after terms are agreed? Options: Immediately, Within 2 weeks, 1 month, 2–3 months, Longer / requires scheduling
• Who should be the single point of contact on your side for pilot coordination, and who are the critical alternate approvers?
• What follow-up would be most valuable after this discovery (choose all that apply)? Options: Detailed proposal & ROI model, Suggested evaluation plan & timeline, Executive briefing / summary, Technical deep-dive workshop, Reference introductions, On-site scoping visit