[SystemSafety] [External] Re: Post Office Horizon System

[Peter Bernard Ladkin]

Steve,

I am certainly not going to suggest that many software functional requirements could be more 
carefully specified than they are, and, like you, I believe that in many software developments such 
precise requirements specification can help enormously.

Suppose you were writing software to look at CRT scans of people's hearts, and identify myocarditis. 
There is (a) a software component which maps pixels to anatomical objects 
+ geometry, followed by 
(b) a software interpretive component which identifies certain kinds of anomalies in the picture 
overlaid with the anatomy derived from (a).

There are two related criteria for the success of this software. The main 
criterion is that the 
subject really does have myocarditis. The second criterion is that the software judgement agrees 
with the judgement of an experienced physician that the subject has myocarditis. Most often, it is 
the second criterion which is used to determine success, since the first can only be determined with 
invasive and medically undesirable procedures.

Tasks (a) and (b) are usually undertaken a DLNN. How would you go about writing a requirements 
specification for this software? How would you go about validating the software against the 
requirements specification?

PBL

Prof. Peter Bernard Ladkin, Bielefeld, Germany
ClaireTheWhiteRabbit RIP
Tel+msg +49 (0)521 880 7319  www.rvs-bi.de





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