Cascading verification: an integrated method for domain-specific model checking

Abstract

First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisors, David S. Rosenblum and Anthony Finkelstein, for their support during the past three years. I am indebted to David for his help and patience; for providing me the freedom to pursue interesting research; and for considering with me over long Skype calls the finer points of OWL-LP integration in the context of domain-specific and probabilistic model checking. Anthony's advice on authoring compelling narratives that clarify complex research, and his encouragement and strategic guidance, have been invaluable for my development as a researcher. I have been fortunate to visit the Nebraska Intelligent MoBile Unmanned Systems (NIMBUS) Lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). I would like to thank Sebastian Elbaum, co-founder of NIMBUS, for working with me to focus the research in this thesis, and for his contribution throughout my PhD. I would also like to thank Emmanuel Letier for his insightful feedback during my first and second year vivas. And I would like to thank faculty and staff at the Department of Computer Science at University College London (UCL) for providing me with the resources to develop this thesis. In particular, I would like to thank Dean Mohamedally,

Enhancing the Dependability of Complex Missions Through Automated Analysis

“…Because it cannot account for the intricate syntax of the PRISM language, a LOC-and tokenbased analysis offers limited insight into the inherent complexity of model and property specifications. We investigated complexity further by considering behavioral modeling errors specific to the PRISM language that can be eliminated by the automated synthesis of PRISM artifacts (at least with respect to the segment of the mission space that we have investigated thus far) [10]. These errors are significant-perhaps more so than the errors uncovered during the model checking process-because they can mislead mission developers by causing PRISM to verify erroneous mission plans.…”

“…We have designed a novel method for domain-specific model checking called cascading verification [10]. Our method uses composite reasoning over high-level system specifications and formalized domain knowledge to synthesize both low-level system models and the behavioral properties that need to be verified with respect to those models.…”

DEv-PROMELA: an extension of PROMELA for the modelling, simulation and verification of discrete-event systems

“…However, it is well-known that these techniques could become very heavy, time and effort consuming because they require advanced mathematical skills and knowledge [Hei98], and are not very practicable in large and complex systems. Although model checking research is focusing on efficiency and scalability, formal methods are faced with the complexity of systems and data domains [ZREF13].…”

DEv-PROMELA: an extension of PROMELA for the modelling, simulation and verification of discrete-event systems

“…However, it is well-known that these techniques could become very heavy, time and effort consuming because they require advanced mathematical skills and knowledge [Hei98], and are not very practicable in large and complex systems. Although model checking research is focusing on efficiency and scalability, formal methods are faced with the complexity of systems and data domains [ZREF13].…”