[SystemSafety] The VW Saga - 30 managers...

Thu Oct 15 00:28:48 CEST 2015

The unwinding continues...

"AT LEAST 30 Volkswagen managers played a role in using software to cheat 
on emissions testing on more than 10 million diesel cars, Der Spiegel 
reports."

Dozens of Managers Were Involved in VW?s Diesel Scandal
<
http://www.wired.com/2015/10/dozens-of-managers-were-involved-in-vws-diesel-scandal/
>

Chuck Petras, PE
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc
Pullman, WA  99163  USA
http://www.selinc.com
Tel: +1.509.332.1890

SEL Synchrophasors - A New View of the Power System <
http://synchrophasor.selinc.com>

Making Electric Power Safer, More Reliable, and More Economical (R)

From:   "Les Chambers" <les at chambers.com.au>
To:     "'Matthew Squair'" <mattsquair at gmail.com>, "'Martyn Thomas'" 
<martyn at 72f.org>, 
Cc:     "'The System Safety List'" <systemsafety at techfak.uni-bielefeld.de>
Date:   10/13/2015 02:45 PM
Subject:        Re: [SystemSafety] The VW Saga
Sent by:        systemsafety-bounces at lists.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de

500 years on, Shakespeare evokes real life in the VW drama. 

"... Light thickens, and the crow
Makes wing to th' rooky wood.
Good things of day begin to droop and drowse; ..."

Volkwagen's top executive in the U.S. tells U.S. lawmakers, "This was a 
couple of software engineers who put this in for whatever reason."
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/vw-scandal-top-u-s-exec-offers-sincere-apology-cheating-n440971

"... The lady doth protest too much, methinks ..." 

And the bounds of credibility are pushed even further. 

"... Whiles night?s black agents to their preys do rouse. ..."

For at some point VW will have to answer the following questions:
Who wrote the requirements specification that required a cheat mode?
Who reviewed and approved that specification?
Who performed the high level design and the detailed design?
Who had visibility of these specifications for the purposes of safety, 
V&V, standards compliance and logistic support?
Who implemented the code? It could not have been a one or two line mod as 
suggested by some stunningly misinformed journalists. The vehicle was put 
into a new mode which would have required integration of many sensors to 
determine the vehicle was on a rolling road. Just the code required to 
detect that the steering wheel was not deflecting could run into hundreds 
of lines. Then there is the state transition logic and ultimately the 
control software would be unique for cheat mode.
Who did the code reviews?
Who wrote the test specifications and what precursor documents did they 
use in their composition?
Who unit/integration tested the software (probably on some kind of 
simulator)
Who was the build manager?
Who integrated the software into the vehicle and performed hardware 
integration, system and performance testing?
Where are the test results?
Who signed off on safety?
Who approved the final release?
Where is the configuration register?

And so it goes on as the drama extends to a cast of thousands and is 
beginning to look like a very sad tale.
And VW's continued protestations of being sinned against by a couple of 
rogue programmers will in the future only compound their pain.

Macbeth was right:
" ... Thou marvel?st at my words: but hold thee still.
Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill. "

Cheers
Les

PS: Even worse. If we are looking at an honest man in the above video, it 
would mean that none of the above steps were taken. Could VW really be 
that agile? If so, and you own one of these vehicles, take it to the 
squasher and walk away.

From: systemsafety-bounces at lists.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de [
mailto:systemsafety-bounces at lists.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de] On Behalf Of 
Matthew Squair
Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2015 6:41 PM
To: Martyn Thomas
Cc: The System Safety List
Subject: Re: [SystemSafety] The VW Saga

Not to mention that's work, which requires funding from someone's budget. 
So unless they're running a complete slush fund there'll be some level of 
financial line item accountability somewhere. 

Unless VW has a black bag budget of course. :)

Matthew Squair

MIEAust, CPEng
Mob: +61 488770655
Email; Mattsquair at gmail.com
Web: http://criticaluncertainties.com[criticaluncertainties.com]

On 13 Oct 2015, at 7:15 PM, Martyn Thomas <martyn at 72f.org> wrote:
I'd like to see what the software configuration management system records 
about the reasons for the "defeat device".  No software change gets 
implemented without explanation and approval. 

Regards

Martyn

On 12 Oct 2015, at 20:47, Chuck_Petras at selinc.com wrote:
In opening I will say that I am the owner of a '12 VW Jetta TDI. 

To me the issue isn't the NOx emission levels. Its the fact that VW had 
(has) a corporate culture that would condone this sort of thing. What 
other systems have been compromised? Is there an Easter egg in the 
stability control system? Airbags? This really is the issue. 

Regulators Investigating 2nd VW Computer Program on Emissions 
<
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/09/business/international/vw-diesel-emissions-scandal-congressional-hearing.html
[nytimes.com]> 

?VW sets January for diesel emissions recall 
<http://www.cbsnews.com/news/vw-sets-january-for-diesel-emissions-recall/
[cbsnews.com]> 
"Mueller said 'according to current information, a few developers 
interfered in the engine management.' He said he doesn't think the 
management board made the decision to use the manipulated software."

Chuck Petras, PE
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc
Pullman, WA  99163  USA
http://www.selinc.com
Tel: +1.509.332.1890

SEL Synchrophasors - A New View of the Power System <
http://synchrophasor.selinc.com>

Making Electric Power Safer, More Reliable, and More Economical (R)
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