Reach Unkown Heights of Software Quality for Aviation and Aerospace
Fixing issues once a plane, rocket or UAV is airborne can be anything from difficult to impossible. So the software needed to operate them needs to be of the highest quality.
Rigorous code analysis and software testing during the development phase, help identify any hidden issues early on. This not only leads to better software quality - it also has an economical impact. The earlier bugs are detected, the fewer resources are needed to fix them, leading to significant cost savings and higher return on investment.
Last but not least, there are regulations and guidelines which need to be adhered to when developing software in safety-critical environments.
A Solid Foundation to Fly Into the Skies
To fly high you need a solid foundation. Your software architecture is your foundation, which deserves special attention as it helps you reach unknown heights.
Understanding your software's architecture and knowing your code as been written accordingly, gives you a reliable basis for deciding about the future development of your software. With automated architecture checks you can be sure you know the impact of planned changes. The checks flag any deviation from the intended architecture. Especially in safety-critical environments, such as the aviation and aerospace industry, this ensures the changes do not violate security related attributes and structures. If the code deviates from the architecture, it becomes a threat to functional safety. The software architecture conformance check effectively mitigates this threat.
The Checklist for Your Code
Just like pilots run various pre-flight checklists before take-off, developers need to ensure the code is ready to be pushed. These software checks maintain high code quality and prevent technical debt and software erosion.
Code constantly needs to be modified to include new features or enhance the functionality. These changes are necessary to make sure the software meets the latest standards and requirements. Even minor issues, which at first do not impair the software, will over time become a burden an eventually might even present a threat to the functional safety. They might even be the reason why industry standards and guidelines, such as for DO-330 or DOD, are not met anymore.
These minor - and of course also major - bugs in the code can be identified at a very early stage of development through automated static code analysis. This makes easier to fix, requires fewer resources and keeps the code maintainable. We offer tools for clone detection and management, metric monitoring, coding guideline checks, defect analysis, dead code analysis and cycle detection.
Code Coverage Check
No take-off before all checks have been completed. But how do you make sure that millions of lines of code have been checked and no part was forgotten?
Applying a code coverage tool ensures you detect gaps in your testing protocols. Comprehensive coverage metrics, including statement, branch, condition, and MC/DC coverage are essential for verifying that all parts of the code are tested thoroughly to virtually eliminate the risk of undetected bugs. Just as important is keeping in mind that all programming languages and platforms are covered as software environments found in aviation and aerospace projects are typically rather diverse.
Automating the testing process, ensures that the code's quality is consistently monitored and maintained throughout the development lifecycle. Based on detailed reporting from such a tool developers and quality assurance teams can analyze the coverage data and make informed decisions.
Automated GUI Testing
Clearly structured and easy to use displays are needed for various applications - be it for self-service terminals at airports, air-traffic control or in-flight systems. While some are used for customer interaction and meant for streamlining operations to ensuring customer satisfaction, others are pivotal interfaces to ensure safety. Therefore, extensive GUI testing is imperative.
Software needs to perform with the same quality - irrespective of which platform it runs on. In aviation and aerospace you have to consider two more aspects: Firstly, the user - customer-facing HMIs, are operated by untrained people, and thus it has to be ensured that the system can not be crashed during usage. Secondly, the circumstances under which the GUI is deployed. Air traffic controllers, pilots and astronauts are highly trained experts, who heavily rely on their displays to keep people safe. In emergency situations when decisions are made in split seconds, the failure of a GUI can have devastating consequences.
Automating GUI testing ensures the software's complexity does not interfere with the performance. Shorter testing cycles, better test coverage, and discovering potential bugs in the early stages of development are just some of the benefits.