Assessment of software risks with model-based reasoning

Current techniques that specifically address risks associated with software are lacking. Although many risk assessment techniques have been successfully applied in various safety-related systems, they often omit detailed software properties or exclude application perspectives of an entire system. Furthermore, most existing tools require manual assessment of hazard analysis. This paperpresents a model-based reasoning approach for assessment of software risks by employing knowledge models of software faults and the system in which the software is used along with reasoning mechanisms that allow automated qualitative inferences for hazard analysis. We give an example of a software controller for a reactor main feed water system to illustrate the approach.