Fan tutorial 3 - Verify System

This tutorial will discuss how to conduct V&V activities using Valispace. We created requirements and components for our Valifan project in our previous tutorials. This tutorial will explain how requirements are linked to components, the default verification methods available in the tool, their closeout references, and demonstrate the automatic verification methods in Valispace.

This tutorial will take approximately 30 -45 mins to complete. All the values and the requirements provided are arbitrary.

Before we begin, let's review the basics of verifications in Valispace. Requirements are connected to one or more components, systems, or subsystems. These components are verified using verification methods. A component's requirement can be verified with single or multiple methods. Valispace offers five default verification methods: Rules, Inspection, Analysis, Review, and Test.

We will explore how to add components and verification methods to requirements and verify them with each verification method. Rather than asking you to click on icons, we'll provide a clear understanding of the verification process in Valispace.

Adding Components to the Requirement

Let's add the Fan component as default to our specification Fan_Specs. To add the default component to the specification

• Select the Fan_Specs(1) and the click on the small arrow to expand the Fan_specs details tab

• On the expanded details tab, click on the +Assign Component on the Default components(2)

• Upon selecting the +Assign Component, a new dialog box opens where you can select the Fan component and then click on Save.

We have assigned the component “Fan” to all the requirements in Fan_specs specification. In case you have already defined an verification method, the component gets populated automatically to the verification method.

Creating and Loading Views for Verification in Valispace

Valispace offers various pre-selected attributes, such as Identifier, Text, Parents, Children, Type, State, Verification Status, Verification Methods, Components, Closeout References, Tags, and Properties. However, this may lead to excessive horizontal scrolling on smaller screens. To streamline the Verification process, users can generate custom views with only the essential attributes. Let's create a new view and load it.

• Hover over any one of the attribute name cells. A new icon shows as shown in the image below. Click on the icon to get the menu.

• Once you click on the icon, you have a new dialog box, Select the last icon with three vertical windows.
  

• In this box, unselect all the attributes and select only the following attributes: Text, Parents, Children, Verification status, Closeout references, Components, Verification methods and Tags.

The user can also select/unselect the attributes through the “Columns” on the right side options. However, this method was shown to demonstrate how this can be done in other way and also to let you explore the filter option and other settings. The second icon with the funnel symbol is the filtering option.

• Upon finishing, right-click on the tables to open the tables menu. In the dialog box, select Save View.
  

  

• A new dialog box opens where you can input “Verification_View” in Save as new(1) select Private,(2) and then click Save(3).

• Once the view is saved, the user can load them by right-clicking on the tables, selecting the option Load View and selecting the Verification_Views. All the above steps are shown in the following video.

Adding Verification Method to Requirements

Valispace has five default Verification methods: Rules, Inspection, Analysis, Review and Test. Inspection, Analysis and Review are the manual verification methods, while the Rules and Tests are automatically updated based on the triggers in the components module and test module. We will create each Verification method and show you how to attach the closeout references.

Closeout references :The supporting information that proves the verification method.

Manual Verification Method

Let’s add a manual verification method to the requirement R-Fan-001, to do that,

• Click on the three dots icon on the Actions columns of the requirement and select Add Verification Method .

• A new dialog box opens, where you can select the Verification method. For the manual verification method, we will select Inspection and click Yes on the confirmation window.
  

What happens when we add a VM?

• Once we add the Verification method to the requirements, the Verification method gets added to the requirement. You can check this by clicking the > symbol near the Identifier name R-Fan-001. Clicking on the > symbol expands the Verification method row.

Note: the > icon near the inspection method is shown. When the > is selected, the component row expands where it shows the components attached to the Verification method. Since we have added “Fan” as default component, the component gets automatically populated to the Verification methods.

The red colour on the component shows that the Verification method of the component is not verified, while the green shows it is verified.

The user can add multiple components to the verification method by selecting the option Add Component within the three dots of Actions column.

Changing Verification Status

To update the verification status of a component, follow these simple steps. First, ensure that the component meets our standards through a thorough inspection. Once you have confirmed that it aligns with our standards, double-click on the component to access its settings. From there, select "verified" from the drop-down menu. The component's row colour will change from red to green, indicating that it has been verified. This update will also propagate to any related verification methods and requirements. To confirm that the update has been successfully implemented, check the numbers - they should read as 1/1.

• Double-click on the verification status and a drop-down menu is shown. Select the option from Not Verified to Verified. The colour changes from red to green, then propagates to the Verification method and the requirement (notice the numbers - 1/1).
  

  Changing Verification status

For the Analysis Verification method, the procedure is similar, however, the closeout reference is adding an external document or analysis document within valispace and manually changing the verification status.

Automatic Verification Method

Rules - Verification method - Track your Valis against Requirements

Most technical developments are designed against strict requirements, e.g., mass, power consumption, budget, etc. Valispace maintains a complete overview of whether your design fulfils all these requirements.

• In the row of R-Fan-001, in the column Actions, click on the three dots icon and select the first option, Add Verification Method. On the pop-up “Add New Verification Method”, select “Rules” and click on Yes.

• Click on the small arrow button near R-Fan-001 and again on the one next to Rules to open the Fan component in the next row. Double-click the area under the closeout reference column in this row to get the pop-up to add your boolean rules.

• In the pop-up, select type $Fan.Mass <= 300g (1). Click on “Done” (2)

Valispace automatically checks for verification of this rule. The green on the requirement 2/2 notification indicates that this requirement has been met and verified by a total of two verification methods.

In the video, we show how you can compare the requirement vali with the design vali. Since the vali is created by valify option, the name would be different to you. To simplify and reduce confusion we compare the design value with a numeric value $Fan.Mass <= 300g

• You can also always check the status of all requirements and rules of the project by opening the Status tab in the Requirements Module. In case the value of the Vali

PowerUserTip: The tracking of the requirements also takes defined margins into account. In case your worst-case value calculated with margins violates the requirements, the tool will let you know if you use the property function i.e. property($<search_for_vali>, worstcase_plus). You can refer to our documentation here.

Tests - Verification Method [Optional for Tutorials]

The test verification method works concurrently with the Tests module in Valispace. Within the Tests module, the user can write the testing procedure and attach requirements and components to the testing procedure. During the testing phase of the component, the testing engineer can perform the test runs and verify if the test is approved or not. Based on the test run results, the verification status of the requirements gets updated automatically.

Create a new test procedure.

In this section, we will create a brief test procedure, perform a test, and observe the verification process. To accomplish this, we will:

• Select the Tests module(1) and when the module screen shows, click on + Test Procedure (2)

• A dialog box opens where the user can input the Name of the test procedure as Mass_measurement_of_ValiFan and click Create.

• After creating the test procedure, On the right side, the user can define the details of the test procedure and write the steps. In the details section, Find the Units under test and add the component Fan to the test procedure.

Now, let's create the test steps, expected results and the requirement

• Click on the "+" located on the bottom right side to add test steps. This will open a new dialog box where you can add Preparing the Equipment to the Title section. In the Text box, input the following text.
  Text

1. Place the precision balance on a stable and level surface.

2. Turn on the precision balance and allow it to stabilize.

3. Calibrate the precision balance based on the manufacturer's guidelines.

Similarly, add the following step with the following details.

Now, add the expected result to step 1 and step 2.

• Double click on the cell of “Expected Result” on the row of step 1 and add the following text “The balance should show 0.0g

• Do the same for the second step with the following info: “The mass should be less than 300g”.

The second step of this test procedure can verify the requirement R-Fan-001. So, let's add the requirement to the second step.

• Hower to the cell of the “Requirements” column of step 2. Click on + Add requirement.

• Upon clicking, a new dialog opens. In the drop-down type or choose R-Fan-001 and Save.

After saving the test step to the requirement, a new verification method will be created on the requirement. The test step will also be added as a closeout reference to the component. This means that if the testing engineer performs test runs and they are approved, the requirements will be automatically updated based on the test results. The video below demonstrates all these steps, but it is not part of the tutorial. If you are interested in trying it out, please follow the video.

Verification Assignment

The requirements module has a feature named "verification assignment". This feature allows the user to view a matrix that shows which verification methods are assigned to each requirement. Additionally, users can easily add or remove verification methods within this feature. To do so, follow the steps provided.

• Within the requirement module, select the section Verification Assignment(1)
  

  

• On the cell that coincides with the “rules” Vm and the requirement R-Fan-002, click on the cell. This automatically creates the rules verification method on the requirement.

• Similarly, you can click on the other cells and add the verification method.

Next Steps?

Congratulations, you now know your way around Valispace!

You can continue improving your Desktop Fan project. Here are some ideas:

• Add Compliance to your requirements

• Add a few parent/children relationships between requirements, check the Connections Graph, and notice the colour codes on the requirement.

• Explore the Specification export script that is available for exporting the requirements to a Word document.