Functional level data acquisition requirement specification formulation for embedded systems: challenges, experiences and guidelines

Abstract

With the advancement in technology, many features of the large scale application systems are being embedded and miniaturized. This has led to investment of significant efforts on testing and verification of the developed embedded system. The data / signals acquired at intermediate stages of the system aids in analysis and debugging in accelerated manner. This article presents some guidelines for formulating the data acquisition / test points requirements of the core functional module (algorithms) and relevant aspects which are required to be considered during the development to cater for testing, evaluation and subsequent expansion or up-gradation of the system. The guidelines are proposed based on the experience gained over a period of time while working on safety critical embedded systems. The relevant experiences are also shared with the help of a few illustrative examples.