This research theme aims at a great challenge of how to deliver complex and large-scale software systems that are reliable. Software has become a necessity in almost every aspect of the daily lives of individuals and organisations, from self-contained applications to those embedded in various devices (mobile phones, cars, aeroplanes, heart pacemakers, etc). A large proportion of these systems are mission/life-critical. The research theme in reliable software systems is to tackle this challenge by adopting an engineering approach and investigating methods, techniques and tools for the development of reliable software systems. Some key issues include precise requirements elicitation, dependable system architecture and design, systematic validation, verification and testing, and robust infrastructure and deployment environments
The CITR Research Programs contribute their core research capabilities in different disciplines and research areas to RSS.
Research Areas
The RSS theme addresses research areas that help to build reliable software systems, in particular, large software systems.
Based on its internationally competitive expertise of CITR researchers and programs, the RSS theme covers a wide range of research areas, including:
Followings are samples of research projects carried out by research programs under the RSS theme:
Verification and Inconsistency Removal - To investigate how to verify the correctness of grid workflow.
Adaptive Random Testing - To investigate how to enhance the fault-detection capabilities of random testing.
Metamorphic Testing - To investigate how to construct follow-up test cases from those test cases that do not reveal failures.
Specification Based Testing - To investigate how to generate test cases from software specifications to reveal failures in software.
Perspective based inspection - To conduct the technique of inspection according to a special perspective.
System architecture design rationale - To develop an approach to the capture and use of system architecture design rationales aimed at quantitatively verifying and analysing architecrture designs. It is undertaken in collaboration with Sparx Systems, NICTA and Monash University.
Enterprise System Integration and Evolution develops architecture - guided and service-oriented methods and solutions for managing and implementing the interoperation of enterprise applications in changing environments. It is undertaken in collaboration with DSTO.
Adaptive software architectures - To develop a framework for engineering software systems that dynamically adapt to changes in requirements and enviornments.
Dynamic configuration of embedded monitoring systems - To develop a framework for the run-time configuration of embedded software systems that monitor and control manufactured physical systems. It is undertaken in collaboration with Holden with support from the AutoCRC.
Characterisation and compositional security analysis for software systems - To develop methods, techniques and tools for describing the security properties of software systems, for analysing the security compatibility between interacting systems, and for the derivation of system-level security properties from component-level security properties.
Characterisation and compositional performance analysis for software systems - To develop methods, techniques and tools for characterising the performance properties of software systems, and for deriving system-level performance properties from component-level performance properties. It is undertaken in collaboration with Powercor.
Software behavioural interoperability - To develop methods, techniques and tools for formally specifying system interaction behaviour, analysing the behavioural compatibility between interacting systems, monitoring and validating run-time system behaviour.
Rule/pattern-based composition of service oriented systems - To develop a framework for rule/pattern-guided interactive composition of service oriented systems. It is undertaken in collaboration with Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Computing Technology.
Collaboration
Research conducted in the RSS theme is supported by various research grants. Funding sources include Australian Research Council (ARC).
