Diversity and Adjudication

TL;DR

This paper explores the concept of adjudication in diversity through an axiomatic approach, defining operators to combine multiple parallel outcomes into a single dependable result.

Contribution

It introduces a formal framework for adjudication operators in N-version programming, analyzing their properties and implications for dependability.

Findings

Defined explicit adjudication operators

Explored properties of adjudication methods

Provided a formal axiomatic framework

Abstract

This paper takes an axiomatic and calculational view of diversity (or "N-version programming"), where multiple implementations of the same specification are executed in parallel to increase dependability. The central notion is "adjudication": once we have multiple, potential different, outcomes, how do we come to a single result? Adjudication operators are explicitly defined and some general properties for these explored.