A Virtual Upgrade Validation Method for Software-Reliant Systems

This report presents a Virtual Upgrade Validation (VUV) method to improve design quality and confidence in qualification through testing for military systems impacted by computer platform changes. This approach uses architecture-centric, model-based analysis to identify system-level problems early in the upgrade process to complement established test qualification techniques. For purposes of this report, the authors focus on changes to the computer platform consisting of processors, network, operating system, and runtime infrastructure. They describe the VUV method steps and introduce the Architectural Dependencies Catalog that provides guidance for modelers on which aspects of the system to model and how to model them. The report also provides a history and overview of the Architecture Analysis and Design Language standard, which is used with the VUV method.