This International Standard provides guidance on the application of various accelerated test techniques for measurement or improvement of product reliability. Identification of potential failure modes that could be experienced in the use of a product/item and their mitigation is instrumental to ensure dependability of an item.

The object of the methods is to either identify potential design weakness or provide information on item dependability, or to achieve necessary reliability/availability improvement, all within a compressed or accelerated period of time. This standard addresses accelerated testing of non-repairable and repairable systems. It can be used for probability ratio sequential tests, fixed duration tests and reliability improvement/growth tests, where the measure of reliability may differ from the standard probability of failure occurrence.

This standard also extends to present accelerated testing or production screening methods that would identify weakness introduced into the product by manufacturing error, which could compromise product dependability.