CSE4431 System Validation & Verification, Quality and Standard

Software Engineering (SE)

This subject covers the products, processes, techniques and tools for system validation & verifications including acceptance tests. Commercial Testing Tools from Rational, Mercury Interactive and others will be used to apply in practice knowledge learnt about software testing from a theoritical perspective. Inspection and testing methodologies, analysis of artifacts, robustness, performance analysis configuration management, quality assurance plan and standards including ISO9000/AS39000, compliance, assessment, certification issues are covered. It shows how to predict, analyse and control defects in complex software systems. It introduces verification methods such as inductive methods for safety properties. It covers operational semantics for sequential and concurrent programs based on Hoare logic - assertion mechanisms - precondition, postcondition and invariants with a view to systematic test planning and validation.

• Apt, K.R and Olderog, E.R (1991) Verification of Sequential and Concurrent Programs, Springer-Verlag.
• Dahl, O-J (1992) Verifiable Programming, Prentice Hall.
• Deutsch, M.S (1982) Software Verification and Validation, Prentice Hall
• Dorfman, M and Thayer, R.H (eds) (1990) Standards, Guidelines and Examples on Systems and Software Requirement Engineering, IEEE Computer Soc. Press
• Ferdinand A.E (1993) Systems, Software, and Quality Engineering, Van Nostrand Reinhold. IEEE Standard for Software Quality Metrics Methodology, IEEE Publ. 1993
• Lewis, R.O (1992) Independent Verification and Validation - A Life Cycle Engineering Process for Quality Software, John Wiley & Sons
• Mazz, C.Et al. (1994) Software Engineering Standards, Prentice Hall

And others

On-campus

• lectures
• tutorials
• assignments

and others

• The teaching component of the subject involves two aspects, lectures and tutorials.
• Lectures provide the theoretical base for the subject, primarily addressing objectives C1 and A4. The practical aspects of the objectives (numbers A1-A3) will be accomplished by weekly tutorial exercises and assignments.
• The weekly tutorials will demonstrate the verification techniques and address concerns related to quality and standards.
• The assignments will develop the student's understanding of both lecture and tutorial material.

Assessment consists of:

• Assignment 1 worth 40% of the marks for the subject related to assessing the conceptual materials covered under objectives 1 & 5.
• Assignment 2 worth 40% of the marks for the subject related to the practical aspects of the subject covered under objectives 2-4 such as: application of knowledge using tools, languages and standards as appropriate.
• Demonstration at the end of the semester worth 20% to test student's mastery of the subject matter.

Assessment consists of:

• Assignment 1 worth 40% of the marks for the subject related to assessing the conceptual materials covered under objectives 1 & 5.
• Assignment 2 worth 40% of the marks for the subject related to the practical aspects of the subject covered under objectives 2-4 such as: application of knowledge using tools, languages and standards as appropriate.
• Demonstration at the end of the semester worth 20% to test student's mastery of the subject matter.

6

Per week: one two-hour lecture in the SE Studio lab plus approximately 2 hours of (unsupervised) lab work and 2 hours assignment work, 6 hours private study

Students must have completed CSE2201, CSE2304, CSE2305, CSE3308, BUS2176 and CSE2/3391/2/3395

• Programming in C, C++ and Java
• OOSE, Analysis, Design & Programming
• OO Method - UML notation, method and SE process
• Project Management
• Unix, Perl