A component-based approach to specify hazards in the design of safety-critical systems

Fault tree analyses (FTA) are embedded into UML component models. The UML component models are constructed by employing UML´s extension mechanisms in conjunction with component-based software techniques. Taking an application´s safety-related requirements into consideration, the elements of FTA are defined as component attributes, and assigned to a UML component model, which is collected in UML profile for safety analyses and architectural design. Based on the thus enhanced architecture specification of the UML component model, it becomes possible to handle hazard analyses and to model safety mechanisms at the same time.