Completeness in formal specification language design for process-control systems

Abstract

This paper examines the issue of completeness in specification language design. In the mid-80s we identified a set of 26 formal criteria to identify missing, incorrect, and ambiguous requirements for process-control systems. Experimental validation of the criteria on NASA and NASDA spacecraft systems have supported their usefulness in detecting commonly omitted but important information and engineers have been using them in checklist form on real systems. At the same time, we have extended the criteria and now have over 60. This paper shows how most of the criteria can be embedded in a formal specification language in ways that potentially allow automated checking or assist in manual reviews.