MICOSE4aPS: Industrially Applicable Maturity Metric to Improve Systematic Reuse of Control Software

Abstract

automated Production Systems (aPS) are highly complex, mechatronic systems that usually have to operate reliably for many decades. Standardization and reuse of control software modules is a core prerequisite to achieve the required system quality in increasingly shorter development cycles. However, industrial case studies in aPS show that many aPS companies still struggle with strategically reusing software. This paper proposes a metric-based approach to objectively measure the m aturity of i ndustrial IEC 61131-based co ntrol s oftwar e in aPS (MICOSE4aPS) to identify potential weaknesses and quality issues hampering systematic reuse. Module developers in the machine and plant manufacturing industry can directly benefit as the metric calculation is integrated into the software engineering workflow. An in-depth industrial evaluation in a top-ranked machine manufacturing company in food packaging and an expert evaluation with different companies confirmed the benefit of efficiently managing the quality of control software.