ENSCO employs LDRA tool suite for aerospace applications

April 1, 2009
Officials at ENSCO’s Innovative Systems Solutions (ISS) Division, a provider of tools for mission-critical software development and engineering in Falls Church, Va., needed a software testing solution to meet the needs of aerospace companies.

Officials at ENSCO’s Innovative Systems Solutions (ISS) Division, a provider of tools for mission-critical software development and engineering in Falls Church, Va., needed a software testing solution to meet the needs of aerospace companies.

They required a tool suite that would assist in automating their testing processes, aid in reducing development costs, and improve the quality and performance of their customers’ products.

ENSCO staff performed an analysis and competitive tool review, and found their solution: an integrated static analysis, dynamic analysis, and unit testing tool suite from LDRA Technology Inc. in San Bruno, Calif.

“The LDRA tool suite was our preferred tool of choice due to the technical and commercial benefits we gain,” describes Frank Zurla, ENSCO’s ISS deputy division manager. “Due to the [tool’s] ease of use, we can have a tester up and running within three to 10 days. With such a small learning curve and easy configuration, we can achieve maximum efficiency from the team and bring large savings in our testing process.”

ENSCO personnel have employed the LDRA software suite on various projects, such as for testing the embedded systems software for actuation systems written in C for the Joint Strike Fighter. The LDRA tool suite was also used for unit testing safety-critical C++ object-oriented, real-time embedded applications for the engine control system of a next-generation passenger aircraft. For the latter project, ENSCO staffers had their work cut out for them: software testing and verification had to comply with D0-178B Level A requirements, which include strict structural coverage guidelines and 100 percent Modified Condition/Decision Coverage (MC/DC).

“The software was extremely complex, object-oriented C++ code and the LDRA tool suite has assisted greatly in testing and certifying the source code to DO-178B Level A,” Zurla notes. “In terms of process, the LDRA tools provide a facility to store tests and documentation in such a way that we can pass these to our customer and they are able to easily load this information into their copy of the tools and carry out their own verification process as part of acceptance.”

ENSCO officials are pleased with the time and cost savings for their customers. “ENSCO has benefited from a 50 percent improvement in performance using the LDRA tool suite, as opposed to traditional methods,” says Zurla. “The automated process enables the testers to focus on unit testing as TBrun takes away the traditionally time consuming task of creating stubs and writing the harness code.”

For more information, visit LDRA Technology Inc. online at www.ldra.com

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