A Research On Quality Management System Of Chip Firmware Project

Firmware belongs to software,but has its own characteristics,generally no user interface,high reliability requirements,and high replacement costs.Quality management of firmware is a very important but very difficult problem.Intel's "Meltdown" and "Spectre" chip flaws discovered in early 2018 shocked the industry.It took several months for Intel working with large technology companies such as Microsoft and Google to develop a fixed patch.On the other hand,the earlier the quality problem is discovered,the lower the repair cost;the later the discovery,the higher the cost.Based on the mature quality management theory in the industrial field,Juran Trilogy,Deming cycle,combined with mature testing methods in the software field,as well as CMMI process method and ISO/IEC 25010 quality model,for the specialty of firmware,this thesis designed a framework system to ensure the quality of the firmware.The system is a spiraling model that includes setting up product quality objectives and metrics,planning of quality assurance processes and methods and their metrics,the implementation of specific processes and methods,the measurement of processes and methods quality,the improvement of processes and methods,and the measurement of product quality,the improvement of product quality and deliverling high quality product.In this system,the concept of “quality double loop” is proposed,the process quality loop and the product quality loop are organically combined.In the early stage of the project,the process quality loop is focused on.When the product under developing can be tested,product quality loop is added and focused on.Under the guidance of the framework,the planned firmware quality assurance methods are divided into static methods and dynamic methods,static methods including peer review and tool analysis;dynamic methods including unit test,black box test,automated test,fuzzy test,and vulnerability analysis,penetration test,etc.In the implementation of the quality assurance method,the quality of the processes,methods and product are measured and analyzed,and brainstorming methods are used to explore measures and methods to improve quality assurance.The firmware quality management system has achieved certain results.During the power-up of the chip,there are few problems encountered,which frees up time for other chip verification work.The firmware quality management system can be applied to similar firmware projects with appropriate tailoring or adjustment,and provides reference for them.