Why Some FPGA Systems Move Faster Than Others

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been exploring how reducing uncertainty early can transform FPGA bring-up and production.

Two recent examples highlight another important factor about how quickly teams can understand what’s actually happening on the board.

The Challenge: Time Lost Before Testing Even Begins

In one case, a test engineering team was evaluating different boundary scan solutions.

One of their key concerns wasn’t just test performance, it was how long it took to get started.

With some systems, creating a working test project could take several days.

With a different approach, they were able to get a project up and running in half a day.

That difference alone had a direct impact on both internal efficiency and customer delivery timelines.

The Hidden Cost of Limited Visibility

In another example, a team working with high-density FPGA-based boards faced a different issue.

Their existing testing approach:

• provided limited coverage
• struggled to access signals under BGAs
• relied heavily on manual intervention

This created two problems:

1. Longer test times
2. Higher risk of human error

By changing their approach, they were able to:

• increase test coverage significantly
• access previously hidden signals
• reduce testing time by around 30%

Just as importantly, they were able to remove much of the variability from the process.

What Changed

Across both examples, the improvements weren’t just about speed.

They came from:

• faster setup and deployment
• greater visibility into board behaviour
• the ability to access and verify connections more directly
• reducing reliance on manual interpretation

In one case, combining different test methods even allowed up to 25% more of a board to be tested than before.

A Pattern We’re Seeing More Often

These examples reinforce something we’ve been building throughout this series.

The bottleneck in FPGA systems is rarely just the design.

It’s often the time it takes to understand what’s happening.

• Where is the signal going?
• What is actually connected?
• Which part of the system is behaving correctly?

When those questions are hard to answer, progress slows.

Seeing the Board Changes the Process

One of the simplest ways to remove that bottleneck is making the board easier to understand.

Being able to clearly visualise:

• connections between devices
• signal paths
• relationships between components

can significantly reduce the time spent:

• tracing schematics
• interpreting documentation
• trying to locate faults

Introducing the XJTAG Layout Viewer (Free)

To support this, XJTAG provides a free Layout Viewer designed to give engineers immediate visibility into board connections.

With it, you can:

• explore how nets are connected across your design
• quickly identify where issues may exist
• understand complex layouts without manual tracing

This is especially valuable in:

• FPGA-based systems
• high-density designs
• boards with limited physical access

Closing Thought

In FPGA systems, speed doesn’t just come from solving problems faster.

It comes from understanding the system sooner.

And often, that starts with something very simple:

being able to clearly see the board.

Try the Free Layout Viewer

If you’d like to explore your own board connections and start removing uncertainty from your designs:

Go to XJTAG Layout Viewer

Full Case Studies

For more detail on the examples discussed:

Flying Test Systems Case Study

Civitanavi Systems Case Study