The importance of software is increasing dramatically in nearly all sectors
of industry. In the area of business administration, software has become
an indispensable core technology. Furthermore, more and more products
and innovations are also based on software in most technical fields. A typical
example is provided by the automotive industry in which a rapidly increasing
number of innovations are based on electronics and software to enhance the
safety of the vehicles, and also to improve the comfort of the passengers and to
reduce fuel consumption and emissions. In modern upper-class and luxury cars,
20 to 25 percent of the cost is on electronics and software, and this proportion
is estimated to increase to up to 40 percent in the next ten years.
Software has a substantial influence on the quality of products as well as the
productivity of a company. Practice, unfortunately, shows that it is impossible
to develop a complex software-based system “first-time-right”. Hence, comprehensive
analytical measures have to be taken to check the results of the
different development phases and to detect errors as early as possible. Testing
constitutes the most important analysis technique, besides reviews and inspections.
It is, however, a very sophisticated and time consuming task, particularly
in the field of embedded systems. When testing embedded software, not only
the software has to be considered but also the close connection to the hardware
components, the frequently severe timing constraints and real-time requirements,
and other performance-related aspects.
This book should be regarded as an important and substantial contribution
to the significant improvement of the situation in the field of testing embedded
systems. It provides a comprehensive description of the world of embedded software
testing. It covers important aspects such as the testing lifecycle and testing
techniques, as well as infrastructure and organization. The authors’ concentration
on usability in industrial practice makes the book a valuable guide for any
practitioner. Due to the wide range of application of embedded software, the
book will be useful in many industrial businesses.