Quality Assurance For Software Important To Safety

The present publication provides for the first time information and guidance for defining and implementing quality assurance programmes covering the entire lifecycle of software important to safety. It takes into account the large amount of documentation available, the rapid development of software systems and the need of updated guidance on how to do it.

This book contains the refereed proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Agile Software Development, XP 2016, held in Edinburgh, UK, in May 2016. While agile development has already become mainstream in industry, this field is still constantly evolving and continues to spur an enormous interest both in industry and academia. To this end, the XP conference attracts a large number of software practitioners and researchers, providing a rare opportunity for interaction between the two communities. The 14 full papers accepted for XP 2016 were selected from 42 submissions. Additionally, 11 experience reports (from 25 submissions) 5 empirical studies (out of 12 submitted) and 5 doctoral papers (from 6 papers submitted) were selected, and in each case the authors were shepherded by an experienced researcher. Generally, all of the submitted papers went through a rigorous peer-review process.

This report provides guidance on current practices, documenting their strengths and weaknesses in dealing with the important issues of software engineering that nuclear power plant system designers, software producers and regulators are facing. It focuses on safety critical applications of general purpose processors controlled by custom developed software; however, it should also have application in safety related applications and in other types of computers.

The rapid growth in use of programmable technology, in nearly all sectors of Engineering, is a well-known established trend and one which there is every reason to believe will continue into the foreseeable future. The drivers of this trend include cost, flexibility, rich functionality and certain reliability and safety advantages. However, as explained in this book, these advantages have to be carefully weighed against a number of dis advantages which, amongst other things, have fundamental implications for reliability and safety. Ideally, a programmable system would be viewed as a fusion of hardware, software and user (or 'skinware'), operating under a set of environmental conditions. To date, such a unifying model does not exist and so hardware, software and human factors are still considered largely as three separate disciplines, albeit with certain interdependencies. Established techniques are available which enable the engineer to develop systems comprising purely hardware components to a prescribed reliability and performance. Software, however, is fundamentally different in a number of ways, and does not lend itself to equivalent analysis. A major problem with software is its poor 'visibility', and consequently the great difficulty in understanding and predicting its behaviour in all cir cumstances. This results in the ever-present software design flaws, or 'bugs', which have plagued the software industry from its beginnings.

The industry's top guide to software quality -- completely updated! Practical techniques for mission-critical and commercial software. Build a great software quality organization. Prepare for ASQ Software Quality Engineer Certification. Software quality assurance has never been more challenging -- nor more business-critical. In this completely updated guide, sixteen of the world's leading SQA experts share their practical experience with the full range of techniques available for managing software quality. Discover the best ways to organize, staff and improve your software quality organization. Learn how to make the most of inspections, software configuration management, Pareto charts, metrics, statistical methods, CASE tools and other key SQA tools and approaches. "Handbook of Software Quality Assurance, Third Edition "shows you how to: Hire the right software quality professionals -- and get the best from them Structure your software quality program for maximum effectiveness Understand the role of software quality assurance in supporting the SEI Capability Maturity Model Leverage proven quality techniques from other fields Learn today's best practices for managing SQA in commercial software, customized mission-critical software, and embedded systems. Master the specialized techniques, standards, guidelines and rules for managing software safety, and walk through a state-of-the-art SQA case study at Boeing Space Transportation's Systems Software organization. Whether you're a software developer or customer, if you want more reliable software, this end-to-end guide will help you get it.

Provides guidance in the assurance of quality of specification, design, implementation, maintenance and use of computer software related to items and activities important to safety in nuclear power plants.

This textbook offers undergraduate students an introduction to the main principles and some of the most popular techniques that constitute ‘software quality assurance’. The book seeks to engage students by placing an emphasis on the underlying foundations of modern quality-assurance techniques , using these to highlight why techniques work, as opposed to merely focussing on how they work. In doing so it provides readers with a comprehensive understanding of where software quality fits into the development lifecycle (spoiler: everywhere), and what the key quality assurance activities are. The book focuses on quality assurance in a way that typical, more generic software engineering reference books do not. It is structured so that it can (and should) be read from cover to cover throughout the course of a typical university module. Specifically, it is Concise: it is small enough to be readable in its entirety over the course of a typical software engineering module. Explanatory: topics are discussed not merely in terms of what they are, but also why they are the way they are – what events, technologies, and individuals or organisations helped to shape them into what they are now. Applied: topics are covered with a view to giving the reader a good idea of how they can be applied in practice, and by pointing, where possible, to evidence of their efficacy. The book starts from some of the most general notions (e.g. quality and development process), and gradually homes-in on the more specific activities, assuming knowledge of the basic notions established in prior chapters. Each chapter concludes with a “Key Points” section, summarising the main issues that have been covered in the chapter. Throughout the book there are exercises that serve to remind readers of relevant parts in the book that have been covered previously, and give them the opportunity to reflect on a particular topic and refer to related references.

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.