Dr. rer. nat. Alexander Nyßen

Model-based Software Engineering of Small Embedded & Real-Time Systems

As the history of software engineering unveils, abstraction is the means to face complexity. While the 1970's and 1980's have been strongly based on functional and data abstraction, and while the 1990's and early 2000's have been dominated by object-orientation, model-based software development (MBSD) seems to be the predominant development paradigm of the present and upcoming decade. Due to its increased capabilities in terms of abstraction, traceability and analyzability, it seems to be the in particular useful to address the very special constraints, being faced in the domain of embedded & real-time systems. However, as current surveys unveil, from a state-of-the-practice viewpoint, model-based software development does not seem to have penetrated the embedded & real-time domain yet. Tracing this back to domain-specific technical, economical and organizational constraints, not being properly reflected by current model-based approaches, it is the goal of this project to introduce modern model-based technology and techniques, being however constraint-adequate. As only a common, integrated methodology, formed by a systematic and concise method, by profound supporting tools, and by underlying languages, being related via common concepts and principles, allows to unleash the full potential of model-based development, it is the central goal of this project to deliver the latter. Regarding the very special constraints, being additionally faced in the domain of small embedded & real-time systems, the approach should in particular be applicable to a domain, which has been very much elided so far.