Improving the reusability of frequency converter software by using the structured analysis method

In this paper, the reusability and quality of the software of commercial frequency converters is discussed. It is expected that reuse of software components improves overall software quality, reduces software related costs, and speeds up the critical time to market. The authors discuss which components of the frequency converter software are reusable, and to what extent the reuse should be realized. For frequency converter software, a quality driven production method is then proposed, in which the structured analysis (SA) method is dominant. The SA-method is suitable for modeling synchronously executed control programs, and it can be applied throughout the entire software life cycle. Although the SA-method is usually applied only in the analysis and design phases, the authors show that it can also be applied to software testing and quality measurements. A practical method for measuring reusability is also presented.