Deriving Specifications of Dependable Systems: toward a Method

This paper proposes a method for deriving formal specifications of systems. To accomplish this task we pass through a non trivial number of steps, concepts and tools where the first one, the most important, is the concept of method itself, since we realized that computer science has a proliferation of languages but very few methods. We also propose the idea of Layered Fault Tolerant Specification (LFTS) to make the method extensible to dependable systems. The principle is layering the specification, for the sake of clarity, in (at least) two different levels, the first one for the normal behavior and the others (if more than one) for the abnormal. The abnormal behavior is described in terms of an Error Injector (EI) which represents a model of the erroneous interference coming from the environment. This structure has been inspired by the notion of idealized fault tolerant component but the combination of LFTS and EI using rely guarantee thinking to describe interference can be considered one of the main contributions of this work. The progress toward this method and the way to layer specifications has been made experimenting on the Transportation and the Automotive Case Studies of the DEPLOY project.Comment: Published in "12th European Workshop on Dependable Computing, EWDC 2009, Toulouse : France (2009)

Intangible trust requirements - how to fill the requirements trust "gap"?

Previous research efforts have been expended in terms of the capture and subsequent instantiation of "soft" trust requirements that relate to HCI usability concerns or in relation to "hard" tangible security requirements that primarily relate to security a ssurance and security protocols. Little direct focus has been paid to managing intangible trust related requirements per se. This 'gap' is perhaps most evident in the public B2C (Business to Consumer) E- Systems we all use on a daily basis. Some speculative suggestions are made as to how to fill the 'gap'. Visual card sorting is suggested as a suitable evaluative tool; whilst deontic logic trust norms and UML extended notation are the suggested (methodologically invariant) means by which software development teams can perhaps more fully capture hence visualize intangible trust requirements

Embedding Requirements within the Model Driven Architecture

The Model Driven Architecture (MDA) brings benefits to software development, among them the potential for connecting software models with the business domain. This paper focuses on the upstream or Computation Independent Model (CIM) phase of the MDA. Our contention is that, whilst there are many models and notations available within the CIM Phase, those that are currently popular and supported by the Object Management Group (OMG), may not be the most useful notations for business analysts nor sufficient to fully support software requirements and specification. Therefore, with specific emphasis on the value of the Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN) for business analysts, this paper provides an example of a typical CIM approach before describing an approach which incorporates specific requirements techniques. A framework extension to the MDA is then introduced; which embeds requirements and specification within the CIM, thus further enhancing the utility of MDA by providing a more complete method for business analysis

Formal modelling and design of mobile prescription applications

Adverse drug effects are a major cause of death in the world with tens of thousand deaths occurring each year because of medication or prescription errors. Many errors involve the prescription or administration of the wrong drug or dosage by care givers to patients due to illegible handwriting, dosage mistakes, confusing drug names. With the use of mobile devices such as personal digital assistants and smart phones some of these errors could be eliminated because they allow prescription information to be captured and viewed in type rather than handwriting. This paper presents a formal modelling, and design of a prescription application to improve health care services. This could lead to costs and life savings in healthcare centres across the world especially in developing countries where treatment processes are usually paper based