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30 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I NOVEMBER 2023 Feature Article by Chris Young YOUNG ENGINEERING SERVICES ere are many ways, dozens to be sure, and most likely many more, to streamline a PCB design. My goal here is to pick a single-digit number of rules to abide by, that can be rea- sonably adhered to, and provide some bang for the buck. ese rules are meant to reduce design scope creep, avoid PCB respins, and improve production yields. One Communicate clearly Use explicit communication when address- ing ambiguous items. Test point placement can seem like an ambiguous task. Statements like, "Find room for test points," do not help to define scope or draw boundaries. Instead, try statements like, "Production test points can only be on a single side of the PCB in order to reduce test fixture complexity." Implicit communication should be reserved for well- defined objectives and processes. An example would be instructing a PCB designer to place test points per the design procedures identi- fied by company policy X, paragraph Y. Two Proceed with a common goal in mind Designing on the fly without a mutually agreed upon set of goals is a catalyst for scope creep and technical debt. A design blitz, as in football, is a defensive high-risk maneuver intended to reduce schedule (offensive) pres- 8 Simple Rules for Streamlining Your Design