Model-driven software development of safety-critical avionics systems: an experience report
Aram Hovsepyan, Dimitri Van Landuyt, Steven Op de beeck, Sam Michiels, Wouter Joosen, Gustavo Guimarães Rangel, Javier F. Briones, Jan Depauw · Lirias · 2014
The model-driven software development (MDSD) vision has booked significant advances in the past decades. MDSD is said to be very promising in tackling the “wicked” problems of software engineering including development of safety-critical software. However, MDSD technologies are fragmented as these are typically limited to a single phase in the software development lifecycle. It seems unclear how to practically combine the various approaches into an integrated model-driven software development process. In this experience report, we present an end-to-end MDSD process that supports safety-critical software development from the point of view of Space Applications Services, an industrial aerospace company. The proposed development process is a bottom-up solution based on the state of the practice and the needs of Space Applications Services. The process integrates every software development activity starting from requirements definition all the way to the verification and validation activities. Furthermore, we have created an integrated toolchain that supports the presented MDSD process. We have performed an initial evaluation of both the process and the toolset on a case study of an On-Board Control Procedure Engine.