In this paper, we report our experiences of applying three complementary automated software architecture analysis techniques, supported by a tool suite, called DV8, to 8 industrial projects within a large company. DV8 includes two state-of-the-art architecture-level maintainability metrics—Decoupling Level and Propagation Cost, an architecture flaw detection tool, and an architecture root detection tool. We collected development process data from the project teams as input to these tools, reported the results back to the practitioners, and followed up with telephone conferences and interviews. Our experiences revealed that the metrics scores, quantitative debt analysis, and architecture flaw visualization can effectively bridge the gap between management and development, help them decide if, when, and where to refactor. In particular, the metrics scores, compared against industrial benchmarks, faithfully reflected the practitioners’ intuitions about the maintainability of their projects, and enabled them to better understand the maintainability relative to other projects internal to their company, and to other industrial products. The automatically detected architecture flaws and roots enabled the practitioners to precisely pinpoint, visualize, and quantify the “hotspots" within the systems that are responsible for high maintenance costs. Except for the two smallest projects for which both architecture metrics indicated high maintainability, all other projects are planning or have already begun refactorings to address the problems detected by our analyses. We are working on further automating the tool chain, and transforming the analysis suite into deployable services accessible by all projects within the company.

Augmented Reality (AR) enhances real-world view with additional virtual information. This technique can be applied to a variety of industrial applications. It can be used to localize equipment in an industrial plant, to identify a dedicated device or to show its configuration. In addition, AR can be used in remote service situations, where remote experts are guiding local field workers in maintenance tasks. In this paper, we will describe the opportunities of utilizing the AR technology in industrial settings. Besides the presentation of the envisioned use cases, we will present some prototypes that were developed and evaluated during our work.

Modern industrial communication networks are increasingly based on open protocols and platforms that are also used in the office IT and Internet environment. This reuse facilitates development and deployment of highly connected systems, but also makes the communication system vulnerable to electronic attacks. This paper gives an overview of IT security issues in industrial automation systems which are based on open communication systems. First, security objectives, electronic attack methods, and the available countermeasures for general IT systems are described. General security objectives and best practices are listed. Particularly for the TCP/IP protocol suite, a wide range of cryptography-based secure communication protocols is available. The paper describes their principles and scope of application. Next, we focus on industrial communication systems, which have a number of security-relevant characteristics distinct from the office IT systems. Confidentiality of transmitted data may not be required; however, data and user authentication, as well as access control are crucial for the mission critical and safety critical operation of the automation system. As a result, modern industrial automation systems, if they include security measures at all, emphasize various forms of access control. The paper describes the status of relevant specifications and implementations for a number of standardized automation protocols. Finally, we illustrate the application of security concepts and tools by brief case studies describing security issues in the configuration and operation of substations, plants, or for remote access.

ABB is a multi-national corporation that is developing a new generation of products based on the concept of Industrial/sup IT/. This concept provides a common integration platform for product interoperability. As Industrial/sup IT/ enabled products are developed across ABB, software reuse must be considered. Component based software development (CBSD) is an effective means to improve productivity and quality by developing reusable components. Measuring the economic benefits and performing sensitivity analyses of CBSD scenarios in the development of Industrial/sup IT/ products is important to improve efficiency. This paper presents a model that allows project leaders to evaluate a variety of software development scenarios. The model is based on a goal-question-metrics (GQM) approach and was developed at the ABB corporate research laboratories.

This paper establishes a link between three areas, namely Max-Plus Linear System Theory as used for dealing with certain classes of discrete event systems, Network Calculus for establishing time bounds in communication networks, and real-time scheduling. In particular, it is shown that important results from scheduling theory can be easily derived and unified using Max-Plus Algebra. Based on the proposed network theory for real-time systems, the first polynomial algorithm for the feasibility analysis and optimal priority assignment for a general task model is derived.

Petri nets are an established and well researched means for systems modeling and simulation, but its use in the engineering community is not as widespread as the applicability of the formalism would suggest. A reason for this might lie in the fact that there is no established concept for the concise presentation of reusable Petri net design knowledge. This paper proposes Petri net design patterns as a style of presentation of such design knowledge ranging from building blocks to architectural considerations. The template for description is introduced using a number of examples taken from our design experience.