Analyzing timing requirements

Software errors frequently arise from incorrect system requirements. Successful requirements acquisition requires a thorough review process in which both domain experts and implementers can participate. Research groups [6, 10] have developed notations with precise meanings that can be read by both groups of reviewers. In [3], we showed how such requirements, in particular Software Cost Reduction (SCR) requirements, could be analyzed with formal methods. We developed methods for detailing SCR tabular requirements (with information that appears elsewhere in the SCR requirements document ), translating the detailed requirements into a finite state machine (representing the system’s global reachability y graph), and proving safety assertions with a model checker for branching-time temporal logic.