Model-based quality assurance in machine and plant automation using sequence diagrams — A comparison of two research approaches

Machine and plant automation (M&PA) is becoming more and more complex, especially, as additional functionality is realized by a rising amount of software. In order to meet high requirements regarding the quality of these machines and plants, sophisticated methods for quality assurance (QA) are needed. Interaction diagrams have been established throughout different domains for specifying use cases, requirements and test cases and therefore are an essential part of quality assurance. In this paper two approaches aiming at supporting QA in machine and plant automation, namely Message Sequence Charts (MSCs) in Model-based Integrated Requirements Analysis (MIRA) and Unified Modeling Language Sequence Diagrams (UML SDs) for Programmable Logic Controller testing (UMLSD4PLC), are compared and analyzed regarding their benefit to QA.