Selecting UML models for test-driven development along the automation systems engineering process

Test-driven development (TDD) - an established approach in business IT software development - enables test case generation based on models early in the development process. Applying TDD and models in automation systems engineering (ASE) can increase testing effectiveness and efficiency. A key question is which models are suitable for ASE application. UML models support software and systems engineering development in (a) systematically capturing requirements, (b) describing the static system architecture, and (c) specifying dynamic systems behavior. In this paper we discuss selection criteria for UML model selection in ASE and evaluate strengths and limitations of selected models.