STPA-based Method to Identify and Control Feature Interactions in Large Complex Systems

This research develops and evaluates a new approach that can be applied during STPA Step 1 (identify Unsafe Control Actions) to efficiently identify complex feature interactions among multiple controllers that can result in dysfunctional system behavior. The new approach is applied and evaluated usi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Procedia engineering 2015, Vol.128, p.12-14
Main Authors: Thomas, John, Suo, Dajiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
causal factors
feature interactions
hazard analysis
multiple controllers
STAMP
STPA
System safety
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Summary:This research develops and evaluates a new approach that can be applied during STPA Step 1 (identify Unsafe Control Actions) to efficiently identify complex feature interactions among multiple controllers that can result in dysfunctional system behavior. The new approach is applied and evaluated using several automated automotive systems with an emphasis on controllers that may interact or interfere with each other directly or indirectly. The approach is shown to analyze hundreds of interactions with an order of magnitude less effort than has been possible previously. In addition, formal methods are applied to support reasoning about completeness and to enable tool assistance during the search for dysfunctional interactions. Humans are explicitly included as controllers that may interact with automated systems, and accident scenarios involving complex human interactions such as software-induced human errors can be identified.
ISSN:1877-7058
1877-7058
DOI:10.1016/j.proeng.2015.11.499