Architecture Design and Implementation Issues for Model-Based Automotive Embedded Software Development

The key to effectively applying model-based methodology to the development of real-time embedded systems hinges on creating an executable model composed of graphical representations that correctly and accurately reflect the requirements, functionality, and implementation constraints for the system under development. To achieve such goals, developers face similar technical and engineering challenges to those experienced with a traditional development process. In this paper, we present an architecture-oriented model design methodology aimed at combating these challenges. The methodology involves decomposing the system functionality into a set of smaller and more manageable pieces, assembling these pieces into an integrated model, placing the model in a controllable and maintainable test environment, and resolving any model implementation issues. The methodology described in this paper has been successfully applied to production projects and has proven to be effective.