Innovations in Software Engineering for Defense Systems (2003) / Chapter Skim
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1 Motivation for and Structure of the Workshop
1 Motivation for and Structure of the Workshop
Pages 5-11
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From page 5... ...
spends at least $38 billion a year on the research, develop, ~ Moment, testing, and evaluation of new defense systems, and that approximately 40 percent of that cost at least $16 billion is spent on software development and testing (Ferguson, 2001; Aerospace Daily, 20031. Given the costs involved, even relatively incremental improvements to the software development process for defense systems could represent a large savings in defense funds, in addition to producing higher-quality defense systems.
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From page 6... ...
This Committee on National Statistics panel, funded by the DoD Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) , examined the use of statistical methods in several separate arenas related to the design and evaluation of operational tests, and, more broadly, the process used for the development of defense systems (NRC, 1998~.
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From page 7... ...
The linear structure of this report is unfortunate in that it does not communicate well the overlapping aspects of many of the methods described, given that research in one area is often relevant to others. This is one of the justifications for optimism that tools will be developed in the very near future that would further combine, say, requirements specifications, testing, cost estimation, and risk assessment as methods emanating from a unified framework.
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From page 8... ...
The nodes of the graph represent user-relevant states of the software, and various user actions are represented as transitions from one node to another. One of the two approaches to input selection presented at the workshop relies on a Markov chain model of software use in transitioning through the graphical representation, described below.
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From page 9... ...
Analysis of test slate: Data that are collected (possibly using the above experimental design procedures) consist of test inputs, which can be considered from a statistical perspective as "independent variables," and the associated results of the software system exercised on those inputs, which can be thought of as "dependent variables." These input-output pairs can be used both to help determine whether the software functioned successfully for specifically chosen inputs and to measure the extent of, and identify the sources of, defects in a software system.
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From page 10... ...
Many of the techniques described in this report have already enjoyed successful application in DoD or DoD-like applications. For example, a Raytheon application of testing based on Markov chain usage models resulted in an 80 percent reduction in the cost of automated testing along with a substantial reduction in the percentage of project resources required for testing (17-30 percent versus 32-47 percent)
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From page 11... ...
The latter topic would entail a much broader look into issues raised by the development of systems of systems, rather than the narrow problem of testing for interoperability, which is mainly to identify faults. Another topic that could be covered is the selection and application of appropriate testing tools and strategies to achieve specific quality assurance requirements (as opposed to functional specification requirements for the software system)
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