Post 6 — Verification & Testing: How to Prove Your Reverse-Engineered Design Is Correct
Professional reverse engineering ends with evidence: does the reconstructed design behave as intended? HILPCB
1) Testing pyramid (cheap to expensive)
Level 1: Structural
continuity/shorts tests
boundary nets: GND isolation, rail-to-rail shorts
connector pin mapping validation
Level 2: Electrical
rail bring-up with current limit
ripple/noise measurement
clock presence, reset sequencing, enable pins
Level 3: Functional
interface enumeration (USB/Ethernet/CAN)
sensor readout sanity checks
firmware boot behavior (if applicable)
Level 4: Environmental / reliability (as required)
thermal soak
vibration considerations
humidity sensitivity (if outdoor/industrial)
2) Golden sample comparison
Whenever possible:
compare waveforms at key nodes
compare thermal profiles under same load
compare EMI signatures (even coarse near-field scans help)
3) Document deviations transparently
Sometimes you purposely change parts (obsolescence, cost, availability). Your report should state:
what changed
why it changed
what tests prove equivalence
4) Final package checklist
Schematics + annotated notes
Layout + manufacturing outputs
BOM (with confidence levels and alternates)
Validation logs and pass/fail criteria
Known open questions / assumptions list
#HardwareTest #Validation #PCB #ReverseEngineering #EngineeringProcess
