Applying formal methods in software development

Using PVS (Prototype Verification System), we prove that an industry designed scheduler for a smartcard personalization machine is safe and optimal. This scheduler has previously been the subject of research in model checked scheduling synthesis and verification. These verification and synthesis efforts had only been done for a limited number of personalization stations. We have created an executable model and have proven the scheduling algorithm to be optimal and safe for any number of personalization stations. This result shows that theorem provers can be successfully used for industrial problems in cases where model checkers suffer from state explosion.