DO-178C helps to make flying safer.
This standard defines the software planning, development, verification, quality assurance and configuration management process.
DO-178C went into effect in 2013. It was preceded by Document 178B (DO-178B). The update became necessary after concerns developed over the meaning of verification in a model-based development paradigm and considerations for replacing some or all software testing activities with model simulation or formal methods.
Additionally, there had been insistence by FAA designated engineering representatives for better clarification of the definitions and boundaries between the key DO-178B concepts of high-level requirements, low-level requirements and derived requirements. There was also a call for a better definition of the exit/entry criteria between systems requirements and system design as well as that of software requirements and software design.
Airborne vehicles — whether a commercial airline or a military jet — need to comply with functional safety standards.
DO-178C classifies safety in five levels. Each level corresponds to the consequence if the software fails.
- Level A: Catastrophic
- Level B: Hazardous
- Level C: Major
- Level D: Minor
- Level E: No Safety Effect
These software safety levels are designated based on risk. And the higher the risk, the more safety objectives need to be met.
Want to know more about DO-178C? Tonex offers Advanced DO-178C Training Workshop, a 4-day course that covers all the aspects of DO-178C guidelines as well as its supplementary standards.
Additionally, Tonex offers another 45 courses in Aerospace & Defense Engineering, including:
—Combat Systems Engineering Training (3 days)
—DO-178 Training/DO-178C Training/DO-254 Training (4 days)
—Applied Systems Engineering for Logisticians (3 days)
—Intro to Fiber Optics and Infrared Sensors (3 days)
For more information, questions, comments, contact us.