Software Engineering Institute

Modeling and validating quality attributes for real-time, embedded systems is often done with low-fidelity software models and disjointed architectural specifications by various engineers using their own specialized notations. These models are typically not maintained or analyzed throughout the lifecycle, making it difficult to predict the impact of system design changes, especially on attributes that cut across system functionality. Consequently, the unanticipated effects of design approaches or changes are discovered late in the lifecycle, when they are much more expensive to resolve.

A model-based engineering (MBE) approach offers a more effective way to develop, design, analyze, and maintain a system architecture. Through the application of MBE supported by system design and analysis tools, system architects and developers can

• reduce risk through early and repeated analysis of the system architecture
• reduce cost through fewer system integration problems and simplified lifecycle support
• assess system-wide impacts of architectural choices early in the life-cycle
• increase confidence since assumptions made in modeling can be validated through virtual integration of all or part of the operational system before system implementation

• software/system architects and developers who are considering options for engineering embedded, real-time systems
• individuals tasked with the validation of embedded, real-time system performance
• technical managers, managers, and software/system architects who are looking for a solid overview of system and software modeling
• individuals who make decisions about the development or acquisition of real-time, embedded systems

After successful completion of this course you will have an understanding of the

• value of MBE for system development in your application domain
• fundamental MBE concepts, specifically key engineering principles and methods
• alternative choices for representation and modeling
• core elements of the AADL modeling language
• modeling and analysis of embedded software systems using MBE, the AADL, and OSATE toolkit
• quantitative validation of quality attributes through analysis of system architectures
• concepts, key principles, methods, and value of Architecture-Centric Virtual Integration Practices (ACVIP) for system development

The course focuses on fundamental MBE concepts for engineering real-time, embedded software systems through defining and documenting the software and system architecture and validating system quality attributes (also referred to as non-functional properties). The course builds on the SAE Architecture Analysis and Design Language (AADL) standard (AS-5506) for engineering real-time, embedded software systems. The lectures are designed to address the core aspects of AADL, which include language syntax and semantics, constructing modeling views and invoking various analysis tools appropriate to those views. The course also describes some of the modeling concepts overlap with SysML and UML and their relationship to the AADL.

The eLearning course presents learners with language and modeling topics in sessions ranging from 5 - 40 minutes. Course sessions are sequential and, at certain points in the course, the learner will independently complete hands-on exercises to construct models and analyze them within the Open Source AADL Tool Environment (OSATE). By the end of the course, the learner will construct a number of architectural views of a sample system and will be able to perform analysis across the entire model. These analyses will include weight and power allocations with respect to requirements, end to end signal flow latency based on logical and runtime deployment views with various multi-processor bindings, bus bandwidth load analysis, resource utilizations for CPUs and memory, and signal flow latency based on system operation modes.

This course is presented in the form of video instruction presented by experts from the SEI Software Solutions Division. Downloadable materials include course presentation slides, the student workbook, and installation instructions for the development environment (OSATE). Learners will also be able to access additional resources related to the subject matter.

Learners should have fundamental knowledge in the areas of developing embedded real-time systems, software engineering, and architectures. Attendees should have a working knowledge of a programming language and familiarity with a modeling language and the concept of abstraction. A working knowledge of the Eclipse environment is helpful.

To access the SEI Learning Portal, your computer must have the following:

• For optimum viewing, we recommend using the following browsers: Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari
• These browsers are supported on the following operating systems: Microsoft Windows 8 (or higher), OSX (Last two major releases), Most Linux Distributions
• Mobile Operating Systems: iOS 9, Android 6.0
• Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Chrome and Safari follow a continuous release policy that makes difficult to fix a minimum version. For this reason, following the market recommendation we will support the last 2 major version of each of these browsers. Please note that as of January 2018, we do not support Safari on Windows.