RTOS Application Design Checklist

• Physical Block Level Diagram: System-level view depicting the physical features of the system

  • Define your µController(s)
  • Define your power source (LiPo, Coin Cell, AC...)
  • Define your memory storage devices (onboard flash, external flash, µSD...)
  • Define your data sources (sensors, IC's...)
  • Define your inputs (touch screens, buttons...)
  • Define your outputs (LEDs, LCD...)

• C4 Architecture Model: Abstraction-first model focused on context, containers, components and code

  • Create the Context Level Diagram which describes how system interacts with external entities/users
  • Create the Container Level Diagram providing the applications high-level structure
  • Create the Component Level Diagram(s) which provide the details of the containers
  • Note: we skip the code level diagrams at this stage

• Data Source List: these are all of the components that generate data to be processed. You should include the events you expect to cause the component to generate data. Be sure to also include the expected destination of the data -- is it going into storage? Will It be further processed? Does it cause an output?

• Data Flow Diagram: High-level picture of how data flows in the application based on your data sources. The diagram should depict the components that produce the data, the data propagation through consumers, the data storage mechanisms, and the data access mechanisms.

• Outside-in Task Decomposition: break down your system into logical tasks first based on the physical features that the user interacts with, then based on the application level components. The C4 Model can help you logically group functionalities into well-bounded tasks.

• Rate Monotomic Scheduling (RMS) Analysis: technique used by designers to gauge whether tasks in the system can be successfully scheduled.

• RTOS System Diagram: Using all of the information from the aforementioned steps, create a diagram that depicts the various RTOS objects that will be used in your system. This should provide a concise view of the existing tasks, ISRS, data flows, inter-task communication mechanisms, and intra-task communication mechanisms.