At some stage in the development, the system must be integrated where the software is run on the hardware and the system is proven. The Moment of Truth, Integration Integration is the high anxiety step in the development process. Here is where costly mistakes are found and must be fixed. Unfortunately, system integration usually happens near the end of the development cycle, when mistakes are most expensive to fix. Depending upon the type of embedded system, the added cost to fix a mistake goes up by 2 to 10 times at each step.
System integration is one of the most costly places to find and fix mistakes.
This is also where schedules often fall apart since this is the first time the design gets tested. There are many ways to reduce the integration time. One of the best ways is to create a prototype early in the development process to prove the hardware and allow software testing. Development progresses without having to waste time creating test routines to make up for the lack of hardware. Prototypes Reduce Integration Woes Prototyping is another area where the embedded PC really shines.