Independent verification and validation of large software requirement specification databases
- Univ. of Idaho, Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
To enhance quality, an independent verification and validation (IV&V) review is conducted as software requirements are defined. Requirements are inspected for consistency and completeness. IV&V strives to detect defects early in the software development life cycle and to prevent problems before they occur. The IV&V review process of a massive software requirements specification, the Reserve Component Automation System (RCAS) Functional Description (FD) is explored. Analysis of the RCAS FD error history determined that there are no predictors of errors. The size of the FD mandates electronic analysis of the databases. Software which successfully performs automated consistency and completeness checks is discussed. The process of verifying the quality of analysis software is described. The use of intuitive ad hoc techniques, in addition to the automatic analysis of the databases, is required because of the varying content of the requirements databases. The ad hoc investigation process is discussed. Case studies are provided to illustrate how the process works. This thesis demonstrates that it is possible to perform an IV&V review on a massive software requirements specification. Automatic analysis enables inspecting for completeness and consistency. The work with the RCAS FD clearly indicates that the IV&V review process is not static; it must continually grow, adapt, and change as conditions warrant. The ad hoc investigation process provides this required flexibility This process also analyzes errors discovered by manual review and automatic processing. The analysis results in the development of new algorithms and the addition of new programs to the automatic inspection software.
- Research Organization:
- EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC07-76ID01570
- OSTI ID:
- 10163875
- Report Number(s):
- EGG-CATT-10183; ON: DE92017982
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: TH: Thesis (M.S.); PBD: Apr 1992
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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