FIELD NOTES
Get better at hardware test.
Guides, tutorials, and best practices to help you build better hardware tests.
- Migrating from Legacy Systems
Why LabVIEW Version Control Is So Painful
Learn why Git can store a LabVIEW VI but not diff, merge or blame it, what NI's tooling fixes and where it stops, and what a text station changes.
- Migrating from Legacy Systems
Is a LabVIEW Certification Still Worth It?
Learn what CLAD, CLD, CLA and TestStand certifications signal in 2026, when they still pay off, and the portable Python path that replaces each topic.
- Migrating from Legacy Systems
Run a Mixed LabVIEW and Python Test Team
Learn how to run LabVIEW and Python stations on one TofuPilot procedure during a migration, with comparable FPY, clear ownership and a two-week switch test.
- Migrating from Legacy Systems
Document a Test Station for Hand-Over
Learn how to document a test station so anyone on the team can rebuild it and change a limit without its author, with a checklist and a README template.
- Migrating from Legacy Systems
Python Skills Checklist for Test Engineers
Learn the five Python skills a test engineer needs on a production floor, how to verify each in an interview or in week one, and what to leave off the list.
- Migrating from Legacy Systems
Test Engineer Interview: A Python Take-Home
Learn how to run a two-hour Python take-home that checks instrument control, limits and failure handling, with starter files, a grading grid and questions.
- Migrating from Legacy Systems
Test Engineer Job Description for Python Hires
Learn how to write a test engineer job description around the work instead of NI tools, with a full template, a rewrite table and 2026 salary ranges.
- Migrating from Legacy Systems
LabVIEW Contractor vs In-House Python Costs
Learn the three-year cost of a LabVIEW integrator against an in-house Python engineer with TofuPilot, with a worked 5-station example and an editable model.
- Migrating from Legacy Systems
Bus Factor in Test Engineering: A Guide
Learn what bus factor means for a test station, how to audit every station in an afternoon, and the steps that stop one departure from stalling the line.
- Migrating from Legacy Systems
Onboard a Test Engineer in One Week
Learn how to take a Python engineer with no test background from CLI install to owning a real station with uploaded runs and an FPY review in five days.
- Migrating from Legacy Systems
Reskill a LabVIEW Developer to Python
Learn how a LabVIEW developer moves to Python in six weeks, with a concept map, a study plan, plug and phase code and the stumbles to expect.
- Migrating from Legacy Systems
What to Do When Your LabVIEW Engineer Leaves
Learn what to freeze, inventory and rebuild in the first 48 hours, two weeks and 30 days after your LabVIEW engineer leaves, without losing yield data.
