PuLSE-I: Deriving instances from a product line infrastructure

Reusing assets during application engineering promises to improve the efficiency of systems development. However, in order to benefit from reusable assets, application engineering processes must incorporate when and how to use the reusable assets during single system development. However, when and how to use a reusable asset depends on what types of reusable assets have been created.Product line engineering approaches produce a reusable infrastructure for a set of products. In this paper, we present the application engineering process associated with the PuLSE product line software engineering method - PuLSE-I. PuLSE-I details how single systems can be built efficiently from the reusable product line infrastructure built during the other PuLSE activities

Virtualisation of the test environment for signalling

ERTMS is a well-known, well-performing technology applied all over the world but it still lacks flexibility when it comes to authorisation and certification procedures. The key of its success in the future lies as much in cost reduction as in simplification of placing in service procedures. This holds true for the implementation of a new subsystem and even more so for new software releases related to subsystems already in service. Currently the placing in service process of ETCS components and subsystems requires a large amount of tests due to the complexity of the signalling systems and the different engineering rules applied. The S2R Multi-Annual Action Plan states that the effort and time consumption of these onsite tests are at least 30% for any particular project. VITE research project (VIrtualisation of the Test Environment) aims at reducing these onsite tests to a minimum while ensuring that laboratory tests can serve as evidence for valid system behaviour and are accepted by all stakeholders involved in the placing in service process. This paper presents the first VITE results

System test approach for the SAX satellite

SAX satellite verification is based on a protoflight approach, in which only one system model is realized at flight standard level, taking into account the utilization of hardware already qualified for other space programs and the necessity to respect the schedule constraints for a scientific objective. In any case, this approach was tailored with some deviations in order to reduce risks inherent in such a choice. The protoflight approach was also pursued at subsystem/unit level in particular for those subsystems and units considered critical from the schedule point of view. Payload Instruments followed the same approach but complete spare units were developed to reduce the risks associated with such an approach. A description of the model philosophy is provided and then, at satellite level, the testing approach and rationale for each model is presented. Finally, a brief description of each test will be given, highlighting objectives, methodologies, and test configurations. Moreover, for the major tests, problems encountered and solutions applied in establishing a correct approach are described

Intelligent multimedia communication for enhanced medical e-collaboration in back pain treatment

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2004 SAGE PublicationsRemote, multimedia-based, collaboration in back pain treatment is an option which only recently has come to the attention of clinicians and IT providers. The take-up of such applications will inevitably depend on their ability to produce an acceptable level of service over congested and unreliable public networks. However, although the problem of multimedia application-level performance is closely linked to both the user perspective of the experience as well as to the service provided by the underlying network, it is rarely studied from an integrated viewpoint. To alleviate this problem, we propose an intelligent mechanism that integrates user-related requirements with the more technical characterization of quality of service, obtaining a priority order of low-level quality of service parameters, which would ensure that user-centred quality of perception is maintained at an optimum level. We show how our framework is capable of suggesting appropriately tailored transmission protocols, by incorporating user requirements in the remote delivery of e-health solutions