Developing Safety-Critical Software: A Practical Guide for Aviation Software and DO-178C Compliance / Edition 1

by Leanna Rierson

Overview

The amount of software used in safety-critical systems is increasing at a rapid rate. At the same time, software technology is changing, projects are pressed to develop software faster and more cheaply, and the software is being used in more critical ways. Developing Safety-Critical Software: A Practical Guide for Aviation Software and DO-178C Compliance equips you with the information you need to effectively and efficiently develop safety-critical, life-critical, and mission-critical software for aviation. The principles also apply to software for automotive, medical, nuclear, and other safety-critical domains.

An international authority on safety-critical software, the author helped write DO-178C and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s policy and guidance on safety-critical software. In this book, she draws on more than 20 years of experience as a certification authority, an avionics manufacturer, an aircraft integrator, and a software developer to present best practices, real-world examples, and concrete recommendations.

The book includes:

• An overview of how software fits into the systems and safety processes
• Detailed examination of DO-178C and how to effectively apply the guidance
• Insight into the DO-178C-related documents on tool qualification (DO-330), model-based development (DO-331), object-oriented technology (DO-332), and formal methods (DO-333)
• Practical tips for the successful development of safety-critical software and certification
• Insightful coverage of some of the more challenging topics in safety-critical software development and verification, including real-time operating systems, partitioning, configuration data, software reuse, previously developed software, reverse engineering, and outsourcing and offshoring

An invaluable reference for systems and software managers, developers, and quality assurance personnel, this book provides a wealth of information to help you develop, manage, and approve safety-critical software more confidently.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781439813683
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/07/2013
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	610
Sales rank:	603,968
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.90(d)

About the Author

Leanna Rierson is an independent consultant in software, complex electronic hardware, and integrated module avionics (IMA) development for safety-critical systems, with emphasis on civil aviation. She has more than 20 years of experience in the software and aviation industry. Rierson spent nine years as a software and avionics specialist at the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)—five of those in the position of chief scientific and technical advisor for aircraft computer software. Rierson has published numerous papers, led many national and international engineering teams and workshops, and developed courses, policies, handbooks, and guidance material for the FAA. She served as a subgroup cochair and editorial team leader on the RTCA special committee that wrote DO-178C and six other related documents. Rierson has taught DO-178B, and now DO-178C, to hundreds of professionals. She is an FAA Designated Engineering Representative (DER) with Level A authority in the software and complex hardware technical areas. She has worked with numerous aircraft and avionics companies, including Boeing, Cessna, Learjet, Embraer, Rockwell Collins, GE Aviation, Honeywell, and numerous others. She is currently working part-time for the Rockwell Collins avionics certification team.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Introduction and Overview. Context of Safety-Critical Software Development: Software in the Context of the System. Software in the Context of the System Safety Assessment. Developing Safety-Critical Software Using DO-178C: Overview of DO-178C and Supporting Documents. Software Planning. Software Requirements. Software Design. Software Implementation: Coding and Integration. Software Verification. Software Configuration Management. Software Quality Assurance. Certification Liaison. Tool Qualification and DO-178C Supplements: DO-330 and Software Tool Qualification. DO-331 and Model-Based Development and Verification. DO-332 and Object-Oriented Technology and Related Techniques. DO-333 and Formal Methods. Special Topics: Noncovered Code (Dead, Extraneous, and Deactivated Code). Field-Loadable Software. User-Modifiable Software. Real-Time Operating Systems. Software Partitioning. Configuration Data. Aeronautical Data. Software Reuse. Reverse Engineering. Outsourcing and Offshoring Software Life Cycle Activities. Appendices. Index.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"It is easy to notice the author’s extensive and hands-on knowledge in the domain. ... Such experience emanates from the book pages. ... The book is a must for anyone engaged in developing, verifying, or certifying airborne systems. ... [It] offers very clear but relatively concise explanation of the process of developing software-intensive aviation systems under guidance of RTCA DO-178C and related documents. The book does an outstanding job of providing necessary basics with very practical ‘dos and don’ts’. ... can be used as a base reference for software aspects of airborne systems development process."
—Andrew J. Kornecki, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

"This book provides practical guidance for cost-effective safe software. Ms. Rierson distilled the key elements from her experiences and multiple projects into a concise, easy-to-understand book. ... This book demonstrates how, when done properly, safe software development can avoid the inefficiencies and bureaucracy sometimes associated with certification and DO-178. ... What differentiates this book is its honest, real-world recommendations and the insights into the significance of the various DO-178C objectives. If projects took her guidance seriously and implemented it from the start, I believe the projects would cost a fraction of ‘check-box’ projects and result in safer software."
—Wendy Ljungren, GE Aviation

"The book is well researched, and is based on the experiences of a knowledgeable regulator and a practitioner. Leanna’s style is easy to read. It explains the terse but precise guidance given in regulations using terms that are easy to understand. ... The topic is made very approachable through a combination of three styles. It uses a narrative form so the book reads like a story, with the development of arguments and reasoning of an essay, and the certification experiences of the author like an autobiography. The result is an engaging book that is hard to put down."
—George Romanski, Verocel, Inc.

Editorial Reviews

"It is easy to notice the author’s extensive and hands-on knowledge in the domain. ... Such experience emanates from the book pages. ... The book is a must for anyone engaged in developing, verifying, or certifying airborne systems. ... [It] offers very clear but relatively concise explanation of the process of developing software-intensive aviation systems under guidance of RTCA DO-178C and related documents. The book does an outstanding job of providing necessary basics with very practical ‘dos and don’ts’. ... can be used as a base reference for software aspects of airborne systems development process."

—Andrew J. Kornecki, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

"This book provides practical guidance for cost-effective safe software. Ms. Rierson distilled the key elements from her experiences and multiple projects into a concise, easy-to-understand book. ... This book demonstrates how, when done properly, safe software development can avoid the inefficiencies and bureaucracy sometimes associated with certification and DO-178. ... What differentiates this book is its honest, real-world recommendations and the insights into the significance of the various DO-178C objectives. If projects took her guidance seriously and implemented it from the start, I believe the projects would cost a fraction of ‘check-box’ projects and result in safer software."

—Wendy Ljungren, GE Aviation

"The book is well researched, and is based on the experiences of a knowledgeable regulator and a practitioner. Leanna’s style is easy to read. It explains the terse but precise guidance given in regulations using terms that are easy to understand. ... The topic is made very approachable through a combination of three styles. It uses a narrative form so the book reads like a story, with the development of arguments and reasoning of an essay, and the certification experiences of the author like an autobiography. The result is an engaging book that is hard to put down."

—George Romanski, Verocel, Inc.

"It is easy to notice the author’s extensive and hands-on knowledge in the domain. ... Such experience emanates from the book pages. ... The book is a must for anyone engaged in developing, verifying, or certifying airborne systems. ... [It] offers very clear but relatively concise explanation of the process of developing software-intensive aviation systems under guidance of RTCA DO-178C and related documents. The book does an outstanding job of providing necessary basics with very practical ‘dos and don’ts’. ... can be used as a base reference for software aspects of airborne systems development process."
—Andrew J. Kornecki, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

"This book provides practical guidance for cost-effective safe software. Ms. Rierson distilled the key elements from her experiences and multiple projects into a concise, easy-to-understand book. ... This book demonstrates how, when done properly, safe software development can avoid the inefficiencies and bureaucracy sometimes associated with certification and DO-178. ... What differentiates this book is its honest, real-world recommendations and the insights into the significance of the various DO-178C objectives. If projects took her guidance seriously and implemented it from the start, I believe the projects would cost a fraction of ‘check-box’ projects and result in safer software."
—Wendy Ljungren, GE Aviation

"The book is well researched, and is based on the experiences of a knowledgeable regulator and a practitioner. Leanna’s style is easy to read. It explains the terse but precise guidance given in regulations using terms that are easy to understand. ... The topic is made very approachable through a combination of three styles. It uses a narrative form so the book reads like a story, with the development of arguments and reasoning of an essay, and the certification experiences of the author like an autobiography. The result is an engaging book that is hard to put down."
—George Romanski, Verocel, Inc.

From the Publisher