Software Assurance for Model-Based Design

Within JPL and NASA, the emergence of model-based design will reformulate the design process. Simultaneously, the mission-critical role of software is increasing. Thus, the nature of software assurance must change accordingly. This paper examines the experience of using model-based design in the context of development of mission flight software and also covers how software assurance practices are being adapted to work with this approach. In the model-based development paradigm, novelty stems from the fact that many of the artifacts are in machine manipulable representations, not simply paragraphs of textual descriptions or drawings intended purely for human viewing. Furthermore, using tools that support the model-based paradigm allows automatic code generation to be employed, yielding significant portions of machine-generated source code as significant parts of the development efforts.