Internship | Trace-Guided Interaction Inference & Diagram Synthesis

About this position

High-tech system manufacturers face a critical challenge: system knowledge is at risk as subject matter experts (SMEs) retire. To capture knowledge, engineers currently reconstruct how critical system capabilities map to low-level C++ code and machine behavior through a manual, iterative process involving documents, codebases, execution traces, and SME interviews. Findings are consolidated in slide decks and modeling tools, which are hard to query, costly to update, and prone to inconsistencies. This hampers decisions about functionality decoupling and modularization, as practitioners must trace cross-component interactions, validate mappings, and maintain rationale over time. Each analysis requires searching through code, consulting SMEs, running scenarios, and manually building sequence diagrams, a slow, brittle process that undermines confidence in refactoring. This thesis proposes an automated approach to reconstruct scenario-specific interaction diagrams by fusing static analysis (code graph slices) with dynamic evidence (runtime traces), even when traces are incomplete. The resulting diagrams will improve comprehension, traceability, and trust in modularization decisions, and enable SysML v2-compliant exports with provenance.

What will be your role?

TNO-ESI collaborates with high-tech manufacturers to prevent knowledge loss and support software evolution. This thesis explores a clinical scenario as a proof of concept, designing an automated pipeline for interaction inference and visualization. You will:

• Review the State of the Art: Survey techniques for static–dynamic fusion, probabilistic inference under uncertainty, and visualization for software comprehension in large C++ systems.
• Design the Concept: Define the fusion approach and diagram synthesis strategy; specify confidence scoring and evidence overlays for explainability.
• Integrate Data: Align scenario descriptions, execution traces, and code graphs; implement scenario-scoped slicing and trace mapping.
• Build the Fusion Engine: Develop algorithms to infer missing interactions using probabilistic temporal constraints and rank candidate paths based on static connectivity, partial order, and historical likelihood.
• Generate Diagrams: Implement SysML v2-compliant sequence diagrams and PlantUML/Mermaid exports with overlays for confidence and coupling hotspots.
• (Optional) Coupling Analytics: Compute scenario-level coupling metrics (temporal co-activation, fan-in/out, synchronization ties) and rank decoupling candidates.
• Evaluate: Benchmark accuracy against expert-curated ground truth for one or two scenarios; measure explainability and performance under uncertainty.
• Document and Disseminate: Write and defend a thesis; optionally publish in software engineering venues.

What we expect from you

You are an MSc student in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related fields, passionate about software comprehension and applied research in safety-critical systems.

Preferred skills include:

• Programming in C++ and optionally TypeScript/JavaScript for visualization.
• Familiarity with static/dynamic analysis and graph data.
• Ability to read and reason about large codebases.
• Knowledge of SysML/PlantUML and trace formats.
• Interest in UX research and explainable tooling.

What you'll get in return

You will, of course, be properly supervised during your work placement and be given the scope for you to get the best out of yourself. Furthermore, we provide:

• A highly professional, innovative internship environment, within a team of top experts.
• A suitable internship allowance (615 euro for wo-, hbo- and mbo-students, for a full-time internship).
• Possibility of eight hours of free leave per internship month (for a full-time internship).
• A free membership of Jong TNO, where you can meet other TNO professionals and join several activities, such as sports activities, (work-related) courses or the yearly ski-trip.
• Use of a laptop.
• An allowance for travel expenses in case you don’t receive an OV-card.

TNO as an employer

At TNO, we innovate for a healthier, safer and more sustainable life. And for a strong economy. There is all the space and support for your talent and ambition. You work with people who will challenge you: who inspire you and want to learn from you. Our state-of-the-art facilities are there to realize your vision. What you do at TNO matters: impact makes the difference.

rosilde.corvino@tno.nl