We elaborate on the theoretical foundation and practical application of the contract-based specification method originally developed in the Integrated Project SPEEDS [11], [9] for two key use cases in embedded systems design. We demonstrate how formal contract-based component specifications for functional, safety, and real-time aspects of components can be expressed using the pattern-based requirement specification language RSL developed in the Artemis Project CESAR, and develop a formal approach for virtual integration testing of composed systems based on such contract-specifications of subsystems. We then present a methodology for multi-criteria architecture evaluation developed in the German Innovation Alliance SPES on Embedded Systems.

Software and system dependability is getting ever more important in embedded system design. Current industrial practice of model-based analysis is supported by state-transition diagrammatic notations such as Statecharts. State-of-the-art modelling tools like Statemate support safety and failure-effect analysis at design time, but restricted to qualitative properties. This paper reports on a (plug-in) extension of Statemate enabling the evaluation of quantitative dependability properties at design time. The extension is compositional in the way the model is augmented with probabilistic timing information. This fact is exploited in the construction of the underlying mathematical model, a uniform continuous-time Markov decision process, on which we are able to check requirements of the form: "The probability to hit a safety-critical system configuration within a mission time of 3 hours is at most 0.01." We give a detailed explanation of the construction and evaluation steps making this possible, and report on a nontrivial case study of a high-speed train signalling system where the tool has been applied successfully.