1. Purpose of the gate
Test end-of-life plan agreed confirms capacity, hardware spares and final test runs for the last-time buy, after the product's discontinuance is announced.
It feeds the product's last-time buy.
The product's discontinuance is announced and the test plan for the last-time buy is agreed: capacity, hardware spares and the final test runs.
End of life is often handled late for test because the product is still shipping normally when it is announced. Yet testers and hardware are the resources most likely to be reassigned, and probe cards and sockets wear out over the final builds. Agreeing the plan as soon as the discontinuance is announced keeps the last-time buy from becoming a scramble for capacity and spares.
The plan also starts the archive. Deciding early what will be kept, in which format and for how long means the team that knows the product can prepare it, rather than leaving it to whoever remains at the end.
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