Design and conduct hardware or software tests.

“Design and conduct hardware or software tests.” is a core task performed by Computer Systems Engineers/Architects. Among the occupation's 28 rated tasks, workers place it 16th by importance (#13 most important). About 100% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Test performance of computer or information systems. in Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E1. Direct exposure — a language model could plausibly cut the time to do this task by at least half.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 1.00. Automation potential label: T2.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Communicate with staff or clients to understand specific system requirements. · importance 4.2
• Investigate system component suitability for specified purposes, and make recommendations regarding component use. · importance 4.2
• Provide customers or installation teams guidelines for implementing secure systems. · importance 4.2
• Direct the analysis, development, and operation of complete computer systems. · importance 4.2
• Monitor system operation to detect potential problems. · importance 4.1
• Direct the installation of operating systems, network or application software, or computer or network hardware. · importance 4.1
• Verify stability, interoperability, portability, security, or scalability of system architecture. · importance 4.0
• Identify system data, hardware, or software components required to meet user needs. · importance 4.0
• Perform ongoing hardware and software maintenance operations, including installing or upgrading hardware or software. · importance 4.0
• Research, test, or verify proper functioning of software patches and fixes. · importance 3.9
• Configure servers to meet functional specifications. · importance 3.9
• Collaborate with engineers or software developers to select appropriate design solutions or ensure the compatibility of system components. · importance 3.8
• Document design specifications, installation instructions, and other system-related information. · importance 3.7
• Evaluate existing systems to determine effectiveness, and suggest changes to meet organizational requirements. · importance 3.7

See all tasks on the Computer Systems Engineers/Architects page.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-task-14683,
  title  = {Design and conduct hardware or software tests.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/tasks/task-14683}
}