Objective
Elm Ltd is a UK based SME designing and manufacturing retail refrigeration and HVAC (HEATING, VENTILATING AND AIR CONDITIONING) control systems. The success of the company is largely based upon its ability to respond to individual customer requirements. The flexibility of Elm's product range is dependent on its software engineering capability. The changing nature of the market and the strict deadlines imposed by customers for new store openings, requires a fast, efficient and dependable software development process. Project overrun, specification errors and implementation errors lead to customer frustration and possible loss of future business.
The main objective of the PIE is to improve the process of designing embedded software control systems. This will be achieved by improving the system design process and ensuring its uniform application by modifying existing processes and training and motivating staff. The adoption of a design automation tool that will largely replace the present manual process of implementing requirement specifications will greatly assist the PIE.
The benefits derived from this PIE to Elm can be obtained by many other companies engaged in similar developments and at a similar stage of software quality maturity. Elm is typical of many SMEs, both in the UK and across the European Community. It is hoped that the dissemination of our results shall benefit many other similar organisations.
THE EXPERIMENT
The PIE involves the application of an improved design process with the aid of a System Design Automation toolset to a baseline project which is the design of an Air handling Unit (AHU) embedded controller. This addresses two of the major deficiencies identified during the review of current software practices: project overrun and unplanned design iterations .
The major project activities are: Identify and purchase a suitable tool; Train staff to apply the improved process and toolset to baseline project by modelling the requirements; Validate output against requirements to determine process improvements; Monitor project application performance and documentation generation to compare it with previous performance; Involve staff by briefing them about the goals of the PIE and their input and suggestions taken fully into account. The results of the study will be disseminated locally, at suitable European events and through ESSI dissemination channels.
Elm Ltd employs 120 people, 10 of them are directly involved in software development.
EXPECTED IMPACT AND EXPERIENCE
The anticipated commercial impact is the driving force for this. Shortened development cycles and reduced design iterations shall not only improve profitability, but also significantly increase productivity which is an essential element in the company's planned expansion programme.
Elm expects to gain useful knowledge about design automation and to incorporate this method in its software development. Elm also intends that the PIE shall provide the benefit of improved software quality and another step on the path to achieving software quality certification.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering control systems
- engineering and technology mechanical engineering thermodynamic engineering
- social sciences sociology industrial relations automation
- natural sciences computer and information sciences software software development
- social sciences economics and business economics production economics productivity
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Coordinator
G52 4NZ Glasgow
United Kingdom
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