Patent ID: 8477047

Claim:
A communication system, comprising: a control panel, the control panel including a plurality of input devices, a first input device included in the plurality of input devices associated with a first component and a second input device included in the plurality of input devices associated with a second component, the first component being an installed component, the second component being an uninstalled component; an interface unit, the interface unit communicatively coupled to the control panel; an alerting system, the alerting system including a management computer, the management computer communicatively coupled to the interface unit; and an Aircraft Personality Module, the Aircraft Personality Module communicatively coupled to the management computer, the Aircraft Personality Module configured for providing a personality module configuration file to the management computer, wherein the control panel is configured for providing a first signal to the interface unit when a first input is provided via the second input device, the interface unit is configured for receiving the first signal and providing a first input device status signal to the management computer, the first input device status signal being based upon the first signal, the management computer is configured for comparing the first input device status signal to the Aircraft Personality Module configuration file, and the alerting system is configured for providing, based upon said comparison by the management computer, at least one of: an aural alert; and a visual alert to a user of said communication system.