Measuring eMbedded soFtware

Published by the IEEE Computer Society 0018-9162/09/$25.00 © 2009 IEEE with a pacemaker, the odds that the device’s manufacturer will recall it or issue a defect warning over a one-year period are about one in 15. For implantable cardioverter defibrillators—more sophisticated devices that can deliver a strong electric shock to avert sudden death—the odds of a warning are even higher: nearly one in six. The worldwide market for embedded systems is around 160 billion euros, with an annual growth of 9 percent. Figure 1 shows the size and annual volume of selected embedded software.2,3 While these statistics are comparable to the world’s biggest software packages, such as Microsoft Windows, embedded software is far more complex due to the real-time and interface constraints that do not affect IT, application, or desktop software. The embedded and information systems communities tend to exist in almost complete isolation from one another. This holds for conferences as well as for organization layout and products. Embedded-software engineers typically don’t attend mainstream computer shows or software engineering conferences, but rather attend their domain-specific events, such as the SAE Convergence series, because they relate software engineering to specific industry domain challenges and solutions. E mbedded software shapes our world. It is difficult to imagine day-to-day life without it. Examples of embedded software include pacemakers, cell phones, home appliances, energy generation and distribution, satellites, and automotive components such as antilock brakes. Embedded software creates both huge value and unprecedented risks. Pacemakers are a good example of how embedded software helps millions of persons live a better life. Yet between 1990 and 2000, firmware errors accounted for about 40 percent of the half million devices recalled.1 For a person Christof Ebert, Vector