Total control over design requirements

Citation

(2001), "Total control over design requirements", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 73 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2001.12773cab.014

Total control over design requirements

Total control over design requirements

Keywords: Cambridge Control, Software, Design

Cambridge Control, a MathWorks company, is introducing a new software product that reportedly tightly integrates the industry standard MATLAB, Simulink and Stateflow technical computing software with the enterprise-wide requirements management system, dynamic object-oriented requirements system (DOORS), from quality systems and software (QSS).

Requirements management is the process of capturing, organising, tracing and managing project requirements and measuring the impact of change throughout a project's life cycle. DOORS is described as a multi-platform, enterprise-wide requirements management system that allows users to incorporate a vast number of requirements in their product design, production and delivery in order to ensure full compliance with specified standards. Its open architecture is said to permit the sharing of information and improvements in productivity at every stage of a product's life cycle.

According to Cambridge Control the MathWorks' new Requirements Management Interface provides DOORS users with instant, transparent access to what are widely regarded as a fundamental set of tools for engineering and scientific work, encompassing data analysis, visualisation, application development, model-based design, simulation and code generation. The company explains that the RMI provides a standard interface that permits users of DOORS and The MathWorks' products to manage requirements throughout the development life cycle of mid- to large-scale technical projects. This is reportedly achieved by seamless navigation between requirements specifications in DOORS and corresponding mathematical and graphical implementations in MATLAB, Simulink and Stateflow. The easy-to-use graphical user interface, or "navigator", allows users to shift easily between DOORS documents and MATLAB M-files, Simulink models and Stateflow diagrams.

Users can modify and delete requirements quickly and easily while analysing the impact that changes will have on models and prototypes.

It is thought that the integration of MathWorks' products with DOORS will be of enormous benefit to a broad range of industries. Both sets of products are already used widely by engineering professionals who specialise in computing, aerospace, automotive, telecommunications, manufacturing, defence, medical instrumentation and financial services. With a standard interface, users can combine the tools to form a highly effective development solution.

The introduction of the Requirements Management Interface follows an agreement between the two companies whereby The MathWorks joins the growing list of more than 25 complementary tool vendors participating in the QSS' DOORSConnect programme. DOORS' open architecture enables DOORSConnect partners to offer integrated solutions in the areas of object-oriented analysis and design, simulation, software testing, documentation and process, and project management.

The Requirements Management Interface is available immediately from Cambridge Control, to run on Windows '95, '98, and NT and UNIX platforms.

Details available from: Cambridge Control Limited. Tel: +44 (0) 1223 423200; Fax: +44 (0) 1223 423289; E-mail: pfox@mathworks.com; Web site: www.themathworks.com