Submitted Abstract
Critical systems are subject to a variety of early quality assurance (EQA) measures. These measures are aimed at catching defects during the requirements and design stages, and thus avoiding ripple effects in later stages of development. Despite existing research, engineers still face major difficulties during EQA activities. Notably, little usable EQA support exists for a prevalent situation in industry, whereby the requirements are written in natural language and the behavioral design is specified using rich modeling languages such as Simulink. EQUACS will devise novel, computer-assisted solutions for EQA, concentrating on two important and yet challenging EQA tasks: (1) consistency checking of requirements and (2) verification of complex design behaviors. The project will be a joint collaboration between University of Luxembourg’s SnT Centre and QRA Corp, a Canada-based company specializing in enterprise tools for requirements and design quality assurance. A successful completion of EQUACS will present an important academic advance in the field of software verification and validation, and at the same time, provide a number of avenues for industrial exploitation at both national and international levels.