Applying software process to Virtual Instrument based test program set development

Virtual Instrument (VI) based test program development systems, as exemplified by National Instruments' LabVIEW, provide very powerful design capture fools that allow the test program set (TPS) developer to rapidly prototype test strategies. As usual, in great power lies danger. In this case the danger is the ease of which VIs are reused. While code reuse is a desired feature, unintentional modifications to common VIs, name clashes, and library corruption are all potential headaches resulting from uncontrolled changes to VIs stored in shared libraries. Undetected "Spontaneous Upgrades" to library components can ruin a maintainer's day when the program loads with broken wires. Developing quality software requires software quality. This paper provides recommended practices to address the Key Practice Areas (KPAs) defined in the Software Engineering Institute's (SEI) Capability Maturity Model (CMM) in the context of TPS development in LabVIEW. Repository management procedures such as check-in check-out and change tracking and documentation are described.