1. Purpose of the gate
The sustaining and change review is held periodically while the product is in production. It reviews yield, field returns, supplier changes and the certification position, and decides on changes and their customer and regulatory notices. In radio products a change to a die, filter, substrate, assembly site or firmware can affect approvals, so every change is assessed against the certification file as well as for RF performance, reliability and test.
The review also decides the product's future: continue, derive a new variant, reduce cost, add a second source, or move towards end of life.
The certification assessment of each change follows the rules of each market. Some changes need no action, some need a filing to keep an existing approval valid, and some need new tests. The review records which applies, and the change is not released for shipment until the regulatory step is complete.
The gate sits at the end of the stage Production Ramp & Sustaining and belongs to the product track. In one line: A periodic review of yield, field returns, supplier changes and the certification position, with decisions on changes and their customer and regulatory notices.
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