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F R A U N H O F E R I N S T I T U T E F O R O P E N C O M M U N I C AT I O N S Y S T E M S F O K U S
SYSTEM QUALITY CENTER
Electr ic i ty and water don’t s imply mater ia l ize from a socket or faucet, and vehic les l ike tra ins and cars
can’t dr ive themselves. Cr i t ica l infrastructures l ike these are backed by information and communicat ion
systems and their software.
QUALITY RIGHT FROM THE START
with a medium-sized industrial partner to develop a modular
architecture for an SIL3-capable control unit which is used to
control safety systems in automation technology. During the
project, the developers took an IEC 61508-compliant approach
so that the entire development process displayed the neces-
sary high degree of maturity. The project showed that
customers can reduce their development time by between
20 and 60 percent using a standards-compliant approach. The
scientists contribute their knowledge of software interopera-
bility and standards compliance to a variety of standardization
bodies, including the European Telecommunications Standards
Institute (ETSI), the Object Management Group (OMG) and the
AUTOSAR partnership. They also played a key role in the
development of the Testing and Test Control Notation
(TTCN-3) and UML Testing Profile (UTP).
SYSTEM DESIGN
System design is a critical step in the development process.
The researchers from SQC use model-based development
methods for this, among others. With their flexible and
extensible ModelBus® tool integration and automation
platform, they can significantly reduce the development
costs for software-based systems. When designing safety-
critical systems such as those used in aerospace, it is
necessary to ensure failure-free operation and a high degree
of processing power with low energy consumption. In the
MUSE project, Fraunhofer researchers investigated what
types of high-performance computer architecture will
The System Quality Center (SQC) of Fraunhofer FOKUS offers
methods, processes and tools for the development and
quality assurance of software-based systems that handle
central and often safety-critical functions. Such systems are
increasingly interconnected these days. Functions that users
now take for granted actually demand a great deal of system
development experience. Because many of these functions
are safety- critical, and their failure could lead not only to
financial risks, but also to the loss of life. To guarantee these
safety-critical functions and ensure that the technical systems
benefit people, it is necessary to protect them from both
failure (safety features) and attack (security features). The
goal of the around 100 employees of the System Quality
Center is to develop reliable, secure and trustworthy soft-
ware-based systems in order to guarantee functionality,
performance, safety, security and robustness.
FROM REQUIREMENTS TO QUALITY ASSURANCE
For these software-based systems to comply with truly
established standards at the end of the development process
and, if necessary, pass a certification test, quality assurance
has to start when development starts. For this reason, the
scientists at the SQC apply their domain-specific knowledge
– of standards and norms, for example – even during the
requirements analysis to guarantee that the final overall
system is successfully certified at the end of the development
process. In the VAKOMO project, for example, they worked
“We ensure system quality through the entire development process – from the requirements analysis to certification.”
Friedrich Schön, Director System Quality Center
“By improving the efficiency of development and quality assurance processes, we help our customers increase their innovative potential.”
Tom Ritter, Director System Quality Center
software security vulner-abilities are based on pro-gramming errors. This allows attackers to access sensitive data, like bank details.
90 percent of all
function reliably and energy-efficiently in a spacecraft
despite cosmic radiation.
QUALITY ASSURANCE
Quality assurance is becoming increasingly important to the
development of safety-critical systems. High levels of quality
are specified by different standards, such as DO 178-B, a
standard for software development in aviation, or DIN EN
61508, which is used in the development of electrical,
electronic and programmable electronic systems. The System
Quality Center provides methods and tools for quality
assurance and advises its customers on their use. For example,
the researchers in the STANCE project are developing analysis
tools for verifying complex software systems in order to check
the attack vulnerability of a train guidance system, for
example. And in the DIAMONDS project, they are using
model-based security tests to ensure that the network
interfaces of bill counting machines cannot be manipulated.
CERTIFICATION SUPPORT
The System Quality Center also monitors the Common
Criteria certification process in the CertLab, an outpost of the
German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). The
scientists are involved in the development of industry stan-
dards and test methods here, and they support their custom-
ers during the certification process. Among other things, they
are working with Vattenfall on the further development of the
industry standard known as VHPready (Virtual Heat and
Power Ready).
S T R E E T C A R S M U S T O N LY R U N I F S A F E T Y-
C R I T I C A L F U N C T I O N S A R E G U A R A N T E E D
Services
– Requirements analysis
– Optimization of system architectures
– Model-based development and testing of
software-based systems
– Tool integration
– Model management and model quality
– Compliance, interoperability, performance
and safety tests
– Product qualification and certification support
– Training and consulting for development,
testing and quality assurance teams
Technologies
– Model-based development and testing
– Test automation
– Verification
– Domain-specific languages
– Process automation
Industries
– Automotive engineering
– Automation technology
– Railway technology
– Information technology
– Aerospace engineering
– Medical technology
– Telecommunications
T H E S Y S T E M Q U A L I T Y C E N T E R P R O V I D E S
M E T H O D S A N D T O O L S F O R T H E Q U A L I T Y
A S S U R A N C E O F S O F T W A R E - B A S E D S Y S T E M S
DR. TOM RITTER
Tom Ritter studied computer science at Technische Universi-
tät Berlin and earned a doctorate in 2011 from Humboldt
University of Berlin. He has worked at Fraunhofer FOKUS
since 1998. Since December 2013, he has been co-director
of the System Quality Center (SQC) with Friedrich Schön. He
is primarily interested in the model-driven development of
software-intensive systems and the optimization of develop-
ment and quality assurance processes. Tom Ritter is married
and has three children.
FRIEDRICH SCHÖN
Friedrich Schön was born in 1958 and completed his
computer science studies at Technische Universität Berlin in
1983. From 2002, he was a department head in the field
of software quality at Fraunhofer FIRST and Fraunhofer
FOKUS. Since December 2013, he has been co-director of
the System Quality Center (SQC) with Tom Ritter. His
primary interests range from parallel and distributed
system architectures to the model-driven and verifiable
construction of systems. Friedrich Schön is married and has
a grown daughter.
CONTACT
Dr. Tom Ritter
Director System Quality Center (SQC)
Phone +49 30 3463-7278
Fax +49 30 3463-99 7278
Friedrich Schön
Director System Quality Center (SQC)
Phone +49 30 3463-7453
Fax +49 30 3463-99 7453
Fraunhofer FOKUS
Kaiserin-Augusta-Allee 31
10589 Berlin
Germany
www.fokus.fraunhofer.de/go/sqc
iku | 1502 (Photos: Matthias Heyde/ Fraunhofer FOKUS)