SVEVIA - Innovative methods and techniques for Software VErification and ValIdAtion of near-realtime complex systems

The project SVEVIA aims at improving the efficiency of Verification and Validation (V&V) processes for critical and complex software systems with near-real time requirements. A critical system is a system whose failure or malfunction can lead to catastrophic losses in terms of cost, environmental damage, or loss of life. The critical systems are adopted in various fields, ranging from air traffic to the rail traffic managements, the management of ports and airports for civil and military purposes. In such contexts, the reliability and timeliness of the system are crucial requirements to be met. However, the activities necessary to ensure the required quality levels and standards prescribed by rule, require enormous costs for the Verification and Validation (V&V) of software, especially in larger systems. The V&V phase is one of the most expensive phases of the entire development cycle in terms of both time and resources used: the systems under consideration are characterized by complex and stringent non-functional constraints, more than 50% of the cost of the entire development comes from V&V process. Issues relating to the definition and implementation of appropriate strategies for V&V go far beyond the purely technical and / or technology, they involve, in a significant way, methodological aspects, aspects related to the production process, the development process, as well as aspects related to organizational structure, business strategies for medium and long term. Therefore, the criticality and complexity of the systems poses new challenges to software engineers, who need to develop solutions that ensure a high level of quality, taking the same time, lower costs and development time. The project SVEVIA intends to address issues related to both the planning and execution of the V&V activities by developing an innovative framework, SVEVIA, to support engineers in the V&V phase. Based on the results achieved and the critical issues and needs expressed by companies involved in the previous laboratory COSMIC, the project will address issues related to: 1) estimated costs and resources required to process V & V in relation to the expected quality of the final product; 2) lack of predictability of the outcome of V & V, caused by inadequate planning of activities, often based on subjective criteria and unstructured, and a reluctance to carry out preventive risk analysis; 3) poor adjustment and / or integration capabilities of current approaches to V & V corporate advanced development processes based on evolutionary models; 4) lack of measurable results from the process of V & V (in terms of quality attributes); 5) inability to automate the running of tests planned. The main objective of the framework SVEVIA is to guide the development team through the entire process, leveraging, and iteratively enhancing, the prior knowledge to put in place V&V strategies suitable for specific product under development