Verification, Validation, and Testing of Engineered Systems

by Engel, Avner

• ISBN13: 9780470618851
• ISBN10: 047061885X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2010-07-30
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Systems' Verification Validation and Testing (VVT) are carried out throughout systems' lifetimes. Notably, quality-cost expended on performing VVT activities and correcting system defects consumes about half of the overall engineering cost. Verification, Validation and Testing of Engineered Systems provides a comprehensive compendium of VVT activities and corresponding VVT methods for implementation throughout the entire lifecycle of an engineered system. In addition, the book strives to alleviate the fundamental testing conundrum, namely: What should be tested? How should one test? When should one test? And, when should one stop testing? In other words, how should one select a VVT strategy and how it be optimized?

The book is organized in three parts: The first part provides introductory material about systems and VVT concepts. This part presents a comprehensive explanation of the role of VVT in the process of engineered systems (Chapter-1). The second part describes 40 systems' development VVT activities (Chapter-2) and 27 systems' post-development activities (Chapter-3). Corresponding to these activities, this part also describes 17 non-testing systems' VVT methods (Chapter-4) and 33 testing systems' methods (Chapter-5). The third part of the book describes ways to model systems’ quality cost, time and risk (Chapter-6), as well as ways to acquire quality data and optimize the VVT strategy in the face of funding, time and other resource limitations as well as different business objectives (Chapter-7). Finally, this part describes the methodology used to validate the quality model along with a case study describing a system’s quality improvements (Chapter-8).

Fundamentally, this book is written with two categories of audience in mind. The first category is composed of VVT practitioners, including Systems, Test, Production and Maintenance engineers as well as first and second line managers. The second category is composed of students and faculties of Systems, Electrical, Aerospace, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering schools. This book may be fully covered in two to three graduate level semesters; although parts of the book may be covered in one semester. University instructors will most likely use the book to provide engineering students with knowledge about VVT, as well as to give students an introduction to formal modeling and optimization of VVT strategy.

Author Biography

Dr. Avner Engel holds a PhD from the Industrial Engineering Department of Tel-Aviv University. For the past twenty years, he has worked for Israel Aerospace Industries, where he has managed large software projects. Dr. Engel was involved with several research projects funded by the European Commission. He is currently teaching systems engineering courses at the Holon Institute of Technology in Holon, Israel.

Table of Contents

Preface.

Part I Introduction.

1. Introduction.

1.1 Opening.

1.2 VVT Systems and Process.

1.3 Canonical Systems VVT Paradigm.

1.4 Methodology Application.

1.5 References.

Part II VVT Activities and Methods.

2. System VVT Activities: Development.

2.1 Structure of Chapter.

2.2 VVT Activities during Definition.

2.3 VVT Activities during Design.

2.4 VVT Activities during Implementation.

2.5 VVT Activities during Integration.

2.6 VVT Activities during Qualification.

2.7 References.

3. Systems VVT Activities: Post-Development.

3.1 Structure of Chapter.

3.2 VVT Activities during Production.

3.3 VVT Activities during Use/Maintenance.

3.4 VVT Activities during Disposal.

3.5 References.

4. System VVT Methods: Non-Testing.

4.1 Introduction.

4.2 Prepare VVT Products.

4.3 Perform VVT Activities.

4.4 Participate in Reviews.

4.5 References.

5. Systems VVT Methods: Testing.

5.1 Introduction.

5.2 White Box Testing.

5.3 Black Box—Basic Testing.

5.4 Black Box—High-Volume Testing.

5.5 Black Box—Special Testing.

5.6 Black Box—Environment Testing.

5.7 Black Box—Phase Testing.

5.8 References.

Part III Modeling and Optimizing VVT Process.

6. Modeling Quality Cost, Time and Risk.

6.1 Purpose and Basic Concepts.

6.2 VVT Cost and Risk Modeling.

6.3 VVT Time and Risk Modeling.

6.4 Fuzzy VVT Cost Modeling.

6.5 References.

7. Obtaining Quality Data and Optimizing VVT Strategy.

7.1 Systems’ Quality Costs in the Literature.

7.2 Obtaining System Quality Data.

7.3 IAI/Lahav Quality Data—An Illustration.

7.4 The VVT-Tool.

7.5 VVT Cost, Time and Risk Optimization.

7.6 References.

8. Methodology Validation and Examples.

8.1 Methodology Validation Using a Pilot Project.

8.2 Optimizing the VVT Strategy.

8.3 Identifying and Avoiding Significant Risks.

8.4 Improving System Quality Process.

Appendix A SysTest Project.

A.1 About SysTest.

A.2 SysTest Key Products.

A.3 SysTest Pilot Projects.

A.4 SysTest Team.

A.5 EC Evaluation of SysTest Project.

References.

Appendix B Proposed Guide: System Verification, Validation and Testing Master Plan.

B.1 Background.

B.2 Creating the VVT-MP.

B.3 Chapter 1: System Description.

B.4 Chapter 2: Integrated VVT Program Summary.

B.5 Chapter 3: System VVT.

B.6 Chapter 4: VVT Resource Summary.

Appendix C List of Acronyms.

Index.