Reliability Improvement and Validation Framework

Software-reliant systems such as rotorcraft and other aircraft have experienced exponential growth in software size and complexity. The current software engineering practice of "build then test" has made them unaffordable to build and qualify. This report discusses the challenges of qualifying such systems, presenting the findings of several government and industry studies. It identifies several root cause areas and proposes a framework for reliability validation and improvement that integrates several recommended technology solutions: validation of formalized requirements; an architecture-centric, model-based engineering approach that uncovers system-level problems early through analysis; use of static analysis for validating system behavior and other system properties; and managed confidence in qualification through system assurance. This framework also provides the basis for a set of metrics for cost-effective reliability improvement that overcome the challenges of existing software complexity, reliability, and cost metrics.

PDF [2522 KB]

Authors

Peter H. Feiler

John B. Goodenough

Arie Gurfinkel

Charles B. Weinstock

Lutz Wrage

This report is related to the following area(s) of work:

Software Architecture

Special Report
CMU/SEI-2012-SR-013
November 2012

Cite This Report

SEI:

Feiler, Peter; Goodenough, John; Gurfinkel, Arie; Weinstock, Charles; & Wrage, Lutz. Reliability Improvement and Validation Framework (CMU/SEI-2012-SR-013). Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, 2012. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/abstracts/reports/12sr013.cfm

IEEE:

P. Feiler, J. Goodenough, A. Gurfinkel, C. Weinstock, and L. Wrage, "Reliability Improvement and Validation Framework," Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Special Report CMU/SEI-2012-SR-013, 2012. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/abstracts/reports/12sr013.cfm

APA:

Feiler, P., Goodenough, J., Gurfinkel, A., Weinstock, C., & Wrage, L. (2012). Reliability Improvement and Validation Framework (CMU/SEI-2012-SR-013). Retrieved May 24, 2013, from the Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University website: http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/abstracts/reports/12sr013.cfm

CHI:

Feiler, Peter, John Goodenough, Arie Gurfinkel, Charles Weinstock, and Lutz Wrage. Reliability Improvement and Validation Framework (CMU/SEI-2012-SR-013). Pittsburgh, PA: Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, 2012. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/abstracts/reports/12sr013.cfm

MLA:

Feiler, P., Goodenough, J., Gurfinkel, A., Weinstock, C., & Wrage, L. 2012. Reliability Improvement and Validation Framework (Technical Report CMU/SEI-2012-SR-013). Pittsburgh: Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/abstracts/reports/12sr013.cfm

Find Us Here

Find us on Youtube  Find us on LinkedIn  Find us on twitter  Find us on Facebook

Share This Page

Share on Facebook  Send to your Twitter page  Save to del.ico.us  Save to LinkedIn  Digg this  Stumble this page.  Add to Technorati favorites  Save this page on your Google Home Page 

For more information

Contact Us

info@sei.cmu.edu

412-268-5800

Help us improve

Visitor feedback helps us continually improve our site.

Please tell us what you
think with this short
(< 5 minute) survey.