Quality Attributes for Embedded Systems

Abstract

Software quality attributes (QAs) such as reliability and modifiability have been used to define nonfunctional requirements of software systems for many years. More recently, they have been used as the basis for generating utility trees in the Software Engineering Institute’s Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Model (ATAM). Software processes and models, such as the ATAM, are often utilized when developing embedded systems which consist of both software and hardware. In order to determine whether the QA’s defined for software are adequate when working with embedded systems, research based on trade studies performed during the development of embedded system architectures were evaluated. The results of the research shows that while many of the embedded system quality attributes map directly to existing software quality attributes, some attributes such as portability take on a modified definition, and others, such as weight, do not normally apply to software systems. This paper presents the quality attributes for embedded systems identified as a result of the trade study evaluation.