Associate Professor Claus Brabrand from the IT University of Copenhagen has just been honored at the CBSoft conference in Brazil. Along with three Brazilian colleagues, he won a Best Tool Award for a new automated method to error check the product line’s software.
    A product line is a range of unique products that have a lot in common. This could be Sony Ericsson's Xperia phones for instance, where the different models share the menu and control system, but each model still has some unique characteristics. These unique items are a challenge when you have to error check the product software.

- We have developed a method that can streamline the error check process. We are not yet sure how much our method will shorten the process, but according to our preliminary calculations it may be more than 10 times faster in finding errors in product lines. For more complicated error analysis than those we have tested so far, our method is probably far more than 10 times faster, but we do not know for sure yet, says Claus Brabrand.

Financial heavyweight
The method was developed in autumn 2010 at the UFPE University in Brazil, where the 38-year-old computer scientist spent half a year's so called sabbatical; a stay that scientists typically use to immerse and to get inspiration. During his stay in Brazil Claus Brabrand experienced how a growing financial adventure is about to transform South America's largest country from a developing country to a financial heavyweight. Therefore some of the world's largest and most powerful companies are focusing on Brazil, which means that the CBSoft prize may prove to be more than an accolade for the Claus Brabrand.

- We hope that our method will be used in the industry for automated debugging, but it requires that the right people know about our research. When you receive such an award in Brazil at a time when everyone is focusing on the enormous opportunities in the country, naturally it means that it is easier for us to get the necessary attention, concludes the researcher.

About the IT University
The IT University of Copenhagen has existed since 1999 and is an independent university dedicated to the digital world. There are about 2,000 students and 270 employees. The IT University researches and teaches within a wide spectrum of topics in the field of IT.

Further contact
Claus Brabrand brabrand@itu.dk, 7218 5076
Research Communication Officer Jari Kickbusch jark@itu.dk, 7218 5042