11.3.1 Formal Verification in System Design Process: From EFFBDs to Petri nets

Safety analysis in Systems Engineering (SE) processes, as usually implemented, rarely relies on formal methods such as model checking since such techniques, however powerful and mature, are deemed too complex for an efficient use. This paper thus aims to improve verification practice in SE design: considering the widely used model of EFFBDs (Enhanced Function Flow Block Diagrams), it proposes a method for a translation into time Petri Nets (TPNs); known results are then applied from TPNs to EFFBDs, leading to the possibility of assessing a number of safety-critical properties. This paper also presents some tools developed in application of these results and in which the underlying complexity is totally concealed from the end-user.