An Empirical Study on Modeling Testing Requirements for Safety-Critical Software

The use of model-based techniques for the development and testing of safety-critical software is a current research focus. However, the complete and accurate depiction of software safety attributes during model construction remains a problem that needs to be addressed. This study focuses on the integration of safety features in model-based testing technologies for safety-critical software. By using the MARTE modeling language and traditional as well as innovative safety analysis methods, this study demonstrates the evolution from basic to advanced models through an empirical project. The empirical results indicate that the analysis outcomes obtained through traditional safety methods (FMEA and FHA) can be modeled in the MARTE language through the extension of constructs or addition of stereotypes. The systematic safety analysis method (STPA) can utilize MARTE to extend the viewpoint layer, resulting in a new hybrid model. This facilitates a better realization of the depiction of software safety attributes based on models and provides a more robust technical foundation for automated modeling.