State-based model checking of event-driven system requirements

In this paper, we demonstrate how model checking can be used to verify safety properties for event-driven systems. SCR tabular requirements describe required system behavior in a format that is intuitive, easy to read, and scalable to large systems (e.g., the software requirements for the A7 aircraft). Model checking of temporal logics has been established as a sound technique for verifying properties of hardware systems. We have developed an automated technique for formalizing the semiformal SCR requirements and for transforming the resultant formal specification onto a finite structure that a model checker can analyze. This technique was effective in uncovering violations of system invariants in both an automobile cruise control system and a water-level monitoring system.