## Verification-based engineering

Verification-based engineering is a form of model-based engineering. It uses formal verification to automate the verification that the controller model satisfies its requirements.

### Verification-based engineering process

The following figure shows a simplified development process for verification-based engineering of supervisory controllers:

The verification-based engineering process is very much similar to the model-based engineering process. The only difference is the way the verification of the controller (model) against its specified requirements is performed. Verification-based engineering uses formal verification, or model checking, to mathematically prove a certain property holds. Such properties could for instance be the absence of deadlock or livelock, or that a bridge may only open if its corresponding traffic lights have been set to signal a red light. Formal verification can prove that such properties hold for every conceivable scenario.

If a property does not hold, formal verification produces counter examples, typically in the form of a sequences of inputs that lead to states in the controller model where the property is not satisfied. This makes it possible to pinpoint the problem in the model, and address it. It is often an iterative process to address such issues, perform verification again, address more issues, perform verification again, etc. If no counter examples are produced, all verified properties are guaranteed to be satisfied by the controller model.

To employ formal verification not only the controller model must be formally specified, but also the properties to check. This means that the requirements are no longer specified in natural language in documents, but in mathematically unambiguous specifications. An example is state machines that define the order in which things may happen, such as that a certain sensor must go on before an actuator can be enabled. Another example is logical formulas that indicate that certain combinations of states in the controller models should never occur, e.g., they could indicate a collision that is to be prevented.

### Benefits of verification-based engineering

Verification-based engineering has all the benefits of model-based engineering. Additionally, it has the following benefit:

Formal verification guarantees that the requirements are satisfied

  Formal verification considers every conceivable scenario. It can therefore mathematically prove that a specified requirement is satisfied by the controller (model). It is thus more powerful than testing, which typically covers only a limited number of scenarios and is then not exhaustive.

Even though verification-based engineering has many benefits, companies should not underestimate how significantly different it is from traditional engineering or even from lesser-automated forms of model-based engineering. They should consider and manage the challenges particular to this engineering approach.