Silvern (2006) Structure for Dependability: Computer-Based Systems from an Interdisciplinary Perspective; Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.

getCITED

Home Search Add Content Reports Help

Edit Publication | Edit Contributors | Delete Publication | Edit References | Edit Citations

Add to Bookstack | Show Bookstack | Change Bookstack

Structure for Dependability: Computer-Based Systems from an Interdisciplinary Perspective; Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.

Post a Comment

CONTRIBUTORS:

	Reviewer:	Silvern, Leonard C. (Systems Engineering Laboratories)
	Editor:	Besnard Denis; University of Newcastle upon Tyne
	Editor:	Gacek, Cristina; University of Newcastle upon Tyne
	Editor:	Jones, Cliff B.; University of Newcastle upon Tyne
	Contributor:	Randell, Brian
	Contributor:	Jackson, Michael
	Contributor:	Felici, Massimo
	Contributor:	Bums, Alan
	Contributor:	Baxter, Gordon
	Contributor:	de Lemos, Rogerio
	Contributor:	Gurr, Corin
	Contributor:	Martin, David
	Contributor:	Sommerville, Ian
	Contributor:	Andras, Peter
	Contributor:	Charlton, Bruce
	Contributor:	Bryans, Jeremy
	Contributor:	Arief, Budi
	Contributor:	Bloomfield, Robin
	Contributor:	Littlewood, Bev
	Contributor:	Sujan, Mark A
	Contributor:	Smith, Shamus P
	Contributor:	Harrison, Michael D

JOURNAL:

Computing Reviews; Nov 28 2006, ??(??), ?? - ??.

YEAR:

2006

PUB TYPE:

Book Review

SUBJECT(S):

Computer System Properties; Human Components in Computer-Based Systems; System Descriptions; Dependability; Fault Analysis

DISCIPLINE:

Computer Science

HTTP:

http://Online Nov 28 2006; http://www.reviews.com

LANGUAGE:

English

PUB ID:

103-429-213 (Last edited on 2006/11/28 10:42:34 US/Mountain)

ABSTRACT:
The role of structure: a dependability perspective.
(C B Jones, B Randell) identifies a number of technical terms in the socio-technical domain, defines them and provides examples.

The role of structure: a software engineering perspective.
(M Jackson) It explains various methods of designing software for large systems.

Structuring evolution: on the evolution of socio-technical systems.
(M Felici) Emphasis is placed on understanding the social aspect of socio-technical computerized systems. There is considerable reference to Kripke models.

Time bands in systems structure.
(A Bums, G Baxter) Computer systems are examined from a time aspect -- from less than a microsecond to more than a month. A band is represented by its granularity (a unit of time that has meaning within the band) and its precision (a measure of the accuracy by the time frame defined by the band).

Procedures, programs and their impact on dependability.
(D Besnard) Attention is given to the basic man-machine (human-computer) system with a dual emphasis on human and machine system error. This area historically has been called by many names including: human performance engineering, human factors engineering, ergonomics, engineering psychology, and systems engineering to name a few.

Cognitive conflicts in dynamic systems.
(D Besnard, G Baxter) Cognitive conficts describe the inability of system elements to reach a satisfactory goal or conclusion. All of the examples provided are in the commercial aircraft environment and more specifically in the cockpit or flightdeck.

Architectural description of dependable software systems.
(C Gacek, R de Lemos) The architecture of a system is what determines the system behavior. Architectural Description Languages (ADLs) are used by software engineers to support the hardware structure.

Computational diagrammatics: diagrams and structure.
(C Gurr) Diagrams, including graphs and flowcharts, are described as being useful in representing system elements and procedures.

Ethnography and the social structure of work.
(D Martin, I Sommerville) This chapter deals with "the world of work" as it has been known historically to vocational/occupational educators. While it focuses on some ethnographic issues there is no recognition of methods of job and task analysis or industrial engineering commonly used in the U.S. and other developed nations involving man-machine systems.

Faults, errors and failures in communications: a systems theory perspective on organisational structure.
(P Andras, B Charlton) While attention is directed to systems theory in general, little is given to human error analysis in computer-based software/hardware systems.

Security implications of structure.
(J Bryans, B Arief) A brief general overview of several basic issues dealing with security problems in large socio-technical computer-based systems.

The structure of software development thought.
(M Jackson) The separation of software engineering from physical science engineering in the real-world is noted. A series of problems and their solutions is provided to illustrate how the designer reasons through the parameters and assigns parameter values.

On the use of diverse arguments to increase confidence in dependability claims.
(R Bloomfield, B Littlewood) Reliability in complex computer-based systems is examined utilizing probability mathematics. Comprehension in this field is necessary.

Qualitative analysis of dependability argument structure.
(M Sujan, S Smith, M Harrison) Discussions of decision-making arguments in the safety-critical commercial aviation field are presented.

The book was designed to shed some light on socio-technical issues which were believed by the editors to be important --- it wasn't intended to present an exhahustive view of the structure of computer-based systems. It has been successful in achieving its objective.

STATISTICS

Click on # to view
Citations		1
References		0
Comments		0
Quality		0/0.00
Interest		0/0.00
View(er)s		2/247

Quality
	N/A
High
	7
	6
	5
	4
	3
	2
	1
Low

Interest
	N/A
High
	7
	6
	5
	4
	3
	2
	1
Low

Prev | Next