Assessing the State-of-Practice of Model-Based Engineering in the Embedded Systems Domain

• Published in: Lecture Notes in Computer Science: Model-Driven Engineering Languages and Systems, Models 2014. 17th International Conference on Model-Driven Engineering Languages and Systems (MODELS) Vol. 8767; pp. 166 - 182
• Main Authors: Liebel, Grischa, Marko, Nadja, Tichy, Matthias, Leitner, Andrea, Hansson, Jörgen
• Format: Book Chapter Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 2014
• Series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science
• Subjects: Embedded Systems; Empirical Study; Industry; Model-Based Engineering; Model-Driven Engineering; Modeling; Programvaruteknik; Software Engineering; State-of-Practice; Technology; Teknik; Industry; Model-Driven Engineering; State-of-Practice; Empirical Study; Embedded Systems; Modeling; Model-Based Engineering
• ISBN: 9783319116525; 3319116525; 3319116533; 9783319116532
• ISSN: 0302-9743; 1611-3349
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-11653-2_11

Model-Based Engineering (MBE) aims at increasing the effectiveness of engineering by using models as key artifacts in the development process. While empirical studies on the use and the effects of MBE in industry exist, there is only little work targeting the embedded systems domain. We contribute to the body of knowledge with a study on the use and the assessment of MBE in that particular domain. We collected quantitative data from 112 subjects, mostly professionals working with MBE, with the goal to assess the current State of Practice and the challenges the embedded systems domain is facing. Our main findings are that MBE is used by a majority of all participants in the embedded systems domain, mainly for simulation, code generation, and documentation. Reported positive effects of MBE are higher quality and improved reusability. Main shortcomings are interoperability difficulties between MBE tools, high training effort for developers and usability issues.