Planning Tools

Tools and applications commonly used in test-planning are organized in this section according to their use in:

You can browse a full list of planning tools here.

Identify, prioritize, and integrate factors into a designed experiment.

	Name: Link(s)	Description	Application
	Fishbone Diagram Worksheet (.PDF)	Documents initial list and sorting of factors that could affect test outcomes.	Planning Factor Management
	Input-Process-Output Diagram Worksheet (.PDF)	Groups factors according to management strategy to assist in down-selection and design.	Planning Factor Management

Determine test size required to confidently establish reliability.

Name: Link(s)	Description	Application
Duration Based Operating Characteristic Curves Calculator (.XLSX)	Generates OC curves for exponential data after calculating maximum allowed failures given inputs of test length, reliability requirement, and desired level of confidence.	Planning Reliability
Binomial Operating Characteristic Curves Calculator (.XLSX)	Generates OC curves for binary reliability. Given consumer risk (beta), the maximum acceptable proportion of failures (requirement), and number of trials, this spreadsheet calculates the maximum number of failures which still results in acceptance of the system.	Planning Reliability
Operating Characteristic Curve for Acceptance Sampling by Attribute Interactive Shiny App	This application provides an easy-to-use interface to compare resistance-to-penetration test plans (and other discrete test plans). Specifically, the application generates operating characteristic curves for single or double sampling test plans, and highlights the risk for each sampling plan. The application includes multiple distribution options, plotting capabilities and customizations, and downloadable graphics and data.	Planning Reliability

Copy common Human Factors questions into a custom survey and compare a survey’s wording and formatting against the best practices checklist.

	Name: Link(s)	Description	Application
	General Survey Questions Spreadsheet (.XLSX)	Provides generic wording for common questions in test and evaluation that can be tailored to specific systems.	Planning Survey Custom Surveys
	Survey Design Best Practices Checklist Spreadsheet (.XLSX)	Lists best practices for writing and formatting custom surveys.	Planning Survey Custom Surveys

Include empirically-vetted question sets in a survey and score responses.

Name: Link(s)	Description	Application
NASA-Task Load Index (TLX) Administration and Scoring Manual Document (.PDF)	Provides instructions for administering and scoring the NASA-TLX. Originally hosted at NASA's TLX web archive.	Planning Survey Published Surveys
NASA-TLX Scoring Sheet Calculator (.XLSX)	Calculates raw and weighted individual and sample-level workload scores given raw responses to the NASA-TLX questionnaire.	Analysis Survey Results Published Surveys
NASA-TLX Survey Questions Document (.DOCX)	Includes original NASA-TLX question wording, rating scale, and word-pairs for optional choice task.	Planning Survey Published Surveys
System Usability Scale (SUS) Documentation Manual (.PDF)	Documents development of the SUS and provides questions, scoring and administration guidelines.	Planning Survey Published Surveys
System Usability Scale (SUS) Scoring Sheet Coming Soon: Calculator (.XLSX)	Calculates overall usability scores given raw responses to the SUS questionnaire.	Analysis Survey Results Published Surveys