The ScenarioTools Play-Out of Modal Sequence Diagram Specifications with Environment Assumptions

Many software-intensive systems consist of multiple components that provide complex functionality by their interaction. The scenario-based languages LSCs and MSDs are intuitive, but precise means to specify interactions; the engineers can specify how a system can, must, or must not react to events in its environment. A key benefit of LSCs/MSDs is that they can be executed via the playout algorithm, which allows engineers to perform an early automated analysis of the specification. However, LSCs/MSDs lack support for expressing also what can or cannot happen in the environment. This is crucial especially in embedded systems: very often, the software will only be able to satisfy its requirements if certain assumptions are made about the behavior of mechanical parts or the physical environment. We extend MSD specifications to formally express such environment assumptions, and propose a corresponding extension of the play-out algorithm. The concepts are implemented in a novel, Eclipse-based tool.