Towards verified continuous integration in the engineering of automated production systems

Continuous integration (CI) is widely used in software engineering. The observed benefits include reduced efforts for system integration, which is particularly appealing for engineering automated production systems (aPS) due to the different disciplines involved. Yet, while many individual quality assurance means for aPS have been proposed, their adequacy for and systematic use in CI remains unclear. In this article, the authors provide two key contributions: First, a quality model for a model-based engineering approach specifically developed for aPS. Based thereon, a discussion of the suitable verification techniques for aPS and their systematic integration in a CI process are given. As a result, the paper provide a blueprint to be further studied in practice, and a research agenda for quality assurance of aPS.