DFT’s expanding role in software-driven silicon: From structural test closure to system-assurance evidence

The 2026 Siemens EDA and Wilson Research Group Functional Verification Study includes new DFT questions that provide a current-state view rather than longitudinal trend data. The data suggests that DFT verification is increasingly connected with mainstream verification infrastructure, software-driven diagnostics, and silicon-lifecycle evidence. This expansion is consistent with the broader shift toward software-driven, operationally complex, and assurance-sensitive silicon. Scalable DFT validation and functional fault grading can connect manufacturing-test coverage with software-driven diagnostics, in-system test, and silicon-quality evidence.