Structure for Dependability : Computer-Based Systems from an Interdisciplinary Perspective

Computer-based systems are now essential to everyday life. They involve both tech- cal (hardware/software) components and human beings as active participants. Wh- ever we ?y aboard an aircraft or withdraw money from a cash point, a combination of humans, machines and software is supporting the delivery of the service. These systems and many others bene?t from the miniaturisation and cost reduction of the hardware which has made it possible for computers to be embedded everywhere. An equally remarkable development is the software involved: today, systems are built which were literally unthinkable twenty or thirty years ago. Measured in terms of their function, the productivity of their creation has also advanced enormously (largely - cause of the software infrastructure). Even the dependability of the best of todays so- ware is praiseworthy when one considers the complexity of the functionality provided. Solid engineering and the increasing adoption of methods based on ?rmly established theory are to be thanked here. However, in large and complex systems, there remain major challenges to achieving dependability when complex interactions exist between technical and human components. Large and complex things are understood as assemblages of simpler components: the way these components ?t together is the structure of the system. Structure can be real and physical, or a subjective mental tool for analysis.

This book breaks new ground by presenting an interdisciplinary approach to a crucial problem – system dependability. Computer-based systems include hardware, software and people. Achieving dependability for such systems requires an interdisciplinary approach.

In Structure for Dependability: Computer-Based Systems from an Interdisciplinary Perspective, computer scientists, sociologists, statisticians and psychologists bring together their latest research on the structure of dependable computer-based systems. The result is a highly readable overview of ways to achieve dependability in large computer-based systems with practical advice on designing dependable systems.

Work on structure for dependability has usually come from a single discipline and has been concerned only with the computer systems. Stakeholders and system designers now agree that human and social issues cannot be separated from technical matters. The approach taken in this book demonstrates that interdisciplinarity delivers real benefits in the design and deployment of complex computer-based systems.

This book is one of the outcomes of a six year Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration. Topics covered include fault tolerance, system evolution, determining software specifications, HCI, architecture, certification, dependability arguments, organisations, diagrams, time and procedures.

System developers, stakeholders, decision makers, policymakers and researchers will find this book a unique resource which highlights the core issues for all those involved in improving dependability in complex computer-based environments.