BVR tool in AMASS

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Among the tools that AMASS reuses and exploits for cross- and intra-domain assurance reuse, the BVR tool supports the management of product lines.

BVR (Base Variability Resolution) is a language built on top of CVL (Common Variability Language) [ref to CVL] to enable variability management in the context of families of safety-critical systems. The BVR Tool supports the language and enables orthogonal variability management for in principle any model (called Base model) instance of a Meta-Object Facility (MOF)-compliant metamodel.

Variability engineers create three kinds of models:

  • VSpec models, which are an evolution of the Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis (FODA) and which represent in a tree-structure the common and variable features that characterize a family.
  • Resolution models, which specify the desired inclusion/exclusion choices for the specific configuration (selection and composition of features to derive a family-member).
  • Realization models, which specify the operations, called fragment substitutions, aimed at defining the changes to be executed on the Base model to obtain the new configuration.

In AMASS, the BVR Tool is seamlessly integrated to manage the variability of development processes (BVR Tool integration with EPF Composer), architectural specifications (BVR Tool integration with CHESS), and assurance cases (BVR Tool integration with OpenCert, Argumentation editor). In addition, BVR Tool is expected to be strengthened via the provision of impact analysis capabilities.

BVR Tool-based variability management will help in meeting the following general needs for CPS assurance and certification:

  • Intra-domain reuse
  • Cross-domain reuse
  • Cross-concern reuse

The work on the adoption of BVR Tool was reported in AMASS deliverables D6.2, D6.5, and D6.7. The work on its extension is expected to be reported soon in deliverables D6.3, D6.6, and D6.8.