A Test Process Improvement Model for Embedded Software Developments

Embedded software requires high quality to meet customer requirements and to achieve product competitiveness. Testability Maturity Model (TMM) and Test Process Improvement (TPI) are recommended to improve test activities, which are important for product quality. However, TMM and TPI in themselves are not appropriate for embedded software since they are lack of consideration on embedded software. This paper deals with the properties of embedded software and industrial challenges based on existing model and we suggest Embedded Test Process Improvement Model (Emb-TPI). Emb-TPI considers practical improvement strategies for the quality of embedded software and focuses on evaluation procedures that achieve cost-effectiveness and valid evaluation results. We present the results of applying Emb-TPI to product development division (PDD) to prove that the model is valid. Emb-TPI provides methods to evaluate test activities in embedded software development and helps to reveal insufficient areas of test activities, which ultimately improves test capabilities.