Software Engineering Case Studies - Chapter 1

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the characteristics, requirements, and features of the three main case studies: the personal insulin pump, the MHC-PMS, and the wilderness weather station.

Personal insulin pump

An embedded system in an insulin pump used by diabetics to maintain blood glucose control.

Safety-critical system

A system where failure or malfunction can lead to severe consequences, such as brain malfunctioning, coma, and death, or long-term organ damage.

Insulin pump blood sugar sensor

An instrument that collects data used to calculate the required insulin dose based on the rate of change of blood sugar levels.

MHC-PMS

Mental Health Care-Patient Management System; a medical information system that maintains information about patients and their treatments.

Centralized database (MHC-PMS)

A server-based repository of patient information that can be accessed by local systems even when they are disconnected from a secure network.

Individual care management

A feature of the MHC-PMS that allows clinicians to create and edit patient records, view history, and see data summaries of problems and treatments.

Patient monitoring (MHC-PMS)

A system function that monitors patient records and issues warnings if possible problems, such as danger to self or others, are detected.

Administrative reporting (MHC-PMS)

A function that generates monthly reports on clinic patient volume, hospital sectioning, prescribed drugs, and associated costs.

Wilderness weather station

A data collection system deployed in remote areas to measure temperature, pressure, sunshine, rainfall, wind speed, and wind direction.

Weather station system

The component responsible for collecting weather data, performing initial processing, and transmitting it to a data management system.

Data management and archiving system

A system that collects data from all wilderness stations, carries out data processing and analysis, and archives the information.

Station maintenance system

A system that communicates via satellite with weather stations to monitor system health and provide status reports.

Dynamic reconfiguration

A software capability where parts of the software are replaced with new versions or backup instruments are switched in during a system failure.

Codes of conduct

Standards of behavior published by professional societies that set out the expected standards for software engineers.