Hypothesis testing is a valuable method used to investigate ideas and test predictions arising from theories based on available data. In the context of critical system architecture, there is a need ...to effectively utilize hypothesis testing to identify faulty paths and improve system safety. This research aims to propose guidelines and best practices for presenting hypothesis testing in critical system architecture. The problem addressed in this study is the underutilization of hypothesis testing in life-critical system methods, resulting in a lack of identification of faulty paths. To address this challenge, we propose an enhanced pathway analysis technique that integrates error-derived information from a system's architectural description, thereby augmenting traditional hypothesis testing methods. By investigating various paths, we aim to identify false positive and false negative errors in life-critical system architecture. Furthermore, the proposed method is validated based on specific validation criteria for each step such as system boundary, assumption, content/architecture, and traceability validations. Also, the method is evaluated based on our claims. The results of our research highlight the significance of tracing errors in early system knowledge. By leveraging the augmented hypothesis testing method, we are able to identify hazards, safety constraints, and specific causes of unsafe actions more effectively. The findings emphasize the importance of integrating early design knowledge into hypothesis testing for enhanced hazard identification and improved system safety.
The Metaverse is all about expanding connectivity amongst users and objects and seamlessly delivering information and services to the right user at the right time. Its potential advantages are ...virtually limitless, and its applications are progressively changing the way we live, and are opening new opportunities for innovation and growth. It is crystal clear that the Metaverse can enable fully immersive experience, elements of fantasy, and new degrees of freedom. However, it is still considered controversial since it will also open up opportunities for misconduct and crime. Furthermore, the industry lacks the capacity to carry out a comprehensive study of the potential risks that will come along. This paper highlights the current and envisioned Metaverse applications along with the main concerns and challenges faced by the Metaverse stakeholders. Furthermore, it examines the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats of the Metaverse technology. Finally, the paper presents the future directions and highlights the most important recommendations for developing the Metaverse systems.
Internet of Things (IoT) systems are becoming increasingly safety-critical as the "Things" become an integral part of everyday life and are given control over life-sustaining processes. As such, ...these products will need safety-aware analysis during the software development life cycle to ensure they operate successfully without harming users. Objective: The overall objective of this study is to construct an approach for conducting safety analysis on the IoT systems in the design phase of the Software Development Life Cycle. Problem: The increasing complexity of the IoT raises concerns with respect to properly assuring IoT safety, since more interaction among components and tighter coupling may result in increased logical errors, posing new safety risks. To show the effect of these problems, we have analyzed several medical systems using our proposed methodology. Method: In this study, we present a methodology to implement IoT systems which takes into account errors and potential hazards at design time. To increase the adoptability of our approach, we use standardized languages/model to represent errors. Several medical use cases are analyzed to prove the viability of the suggested approach. Results: The results of our study show that tracing errors via our method leads to the discovery of hazards in IoT architectures without requiring specialized domain knowledge. The results also are validated based on the traceability criteria. Conclusion: By providing a new hazard analysis method based on early design knowledge and validating early in the Software Development Life Cycle, we discover more hazards and safety constraints to ensure the success of safety critical IoT systems.
Safety-critical systems need specific activities in the software development life cycle to ensure that the system will operate safely. The objective of this dissertation is to develop a new safety ...analysis method to identify hazards. The method uses error propagation information and the internal structure rather than the interfaces of a system. We propose development procedures to augment STPA (System-Theoretic Process Analysis) with error propagation information derived from the architecture description of a system represented in the AADL (Architecture Analysis & Design Language). We will focus on how the AADL error ontology can be used to assist in identifying errors, how those errors propagate among components, and whether the errors lead to hazards in the system. Our research shows that tracing error propagation leads to the discovery of hazards and additional information that other methods miss. The new safety analysis method, Architecture Safety Analysis Method (ASAM), by augmenting STPA with early design information, is able to find more hazards, unsafe control actions, safety constraints and causes of the unsafe control actions than by using STPA alone. Our method leaves more false positives than STPA, but in safety analysis having false positive is preferred over missing actual hazards. We use the AADL error ontology to rigorously describe system component errors and how they propagate among components. We illustrate this rigorous description through several examples and we demonstrate that it yields hazards that an STPA analysis of the example did not find. In addition, we provide a mathematical notation and expressions so that formal analysis and verification of the hazards can be done to ensure that all causes of the hazards have been identified and that any developed safety constraints fully mitigate the hazards, through the use of compositional reasoning.
