Constraint-Checking Editor for Procedure Tracking (ConCEPT)

Constructing, maintaining, and adapting operational procedures for manned space operations is a complex task, requiring the procedure author to satisfy constraints resulting from the system configuration, current state, and a set of procedural constraints imposing additional restrictions on these procedures. For operations on NASA's International Space Station (ISS), these procedural constraints may be of several different types. Notes, Cautions, Warnings, and Inhibits are all relevant types of procedural constraints. Phase I of the Constraint-Checking Editor for Procedure Tracking (ConCEPT) established the feasibility of constructing a constraint-checking system for procedures represented in the Procedure Representation Language (PRL). Using automated translation and Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) generation technologies developed on previous projects, ConCEPT assists users in identifying conflicts and inconsistencies in PRL procedures as they are developed. The user edits a PRL procedure in the Procedure Integrated Development Environment (PrIDE), using procedure steps that have been annotated with procedural constraints. As the procedure is being developed, ConCEPT automatically and continuously gathers appropriate procedural constraints and checks them against the procedure. ConCEPT then alerts the user to any violated constraints. Phase I defined relevant scenarios of use and established feasibility by demonstrating a proof-of-concept system to relevant NASA flight controllers.