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Michael Jennings

Publications and source records attributed to Michael Jennings.

Cyclomatic Complexity and Basis Path Testing Study

The NASA Chief Engineer requested the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) to conduct a study to determine the benefits of cyclomatic complexity and basis path testing (BPT) for software and whether they should be required. The principal focus of the assessment was to assess the use of cyclomatic complexity and BPT on safety-critical software. The purpose was to ensure that safety-critical software is not overly complicated to the point of increasing coding errors and that verification is more robust than for non-safety-critical software. This document contains the outcome of the assessment.

Cyclomatic Complexity; NASA Engineering and Safety

xEMU Wired Heart Rate Monitor

For the past several years, the Exploration Extra-Vehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) has focused on development and testing of the xEMU to support missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and a moon landing in 2024. In that context, this paper examines the development and detailed design of the xEMU Wired Heart Rate Monitor (WHRM). This paper outlines the challenging technical requirements, significant architectural trades, technical solutions required to overcome these challenges, and a status of the detailed design. The preliminary results of Design Verification Testing (DVT) as it relates to WHRM are also provided, along with a forward strategy for final maturation into a flight-ready design.

NASA