The use of digital computers in flight control and avionics systems requires new techniques to verify and validate (V&V) the associated applications software. To compound the problem, changes in the application software subsequent to final certifications may require repeated certification testing, an expensive and time consuming process.
Digital computer technology created the difficult validation problem; but it can also solve it through application of advances in design and validation technology such as Finite State Machine (FSM), Logic Tree Graphic (LTG), and Robotic Testing (RT).
With FSM, system design is described in precise manner that allows direct testing of design states. The LTG will allow the design of test cases using minimal cut sets for failure combinations. In RT, the control of the test program, the detailed magnitude of the test, as well as the sequence of the test is exact and can be repeated in the same exact manner.
