DO-178C Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification is a standard used in the aerospace and military/defense industries to promote reliable implementation of safety critical software.
DO-178C is the primary document by which certification authorities like the FAA, EASA and Transport Canada approve all commercial software-based aerospace systems.
Over the last couple of years, makers of Military/Defense Aircrafts are seeing increased demand from their customers to build DO-178C compliant products.
DO-178C compliance is highly rigorous and achieving certification is always challenging. Understanding these complex restrictions and guidelines are necessary to obtain FAA certification.
The DO-178C software planning process is comprised of five significant areas:
- PSAC: Plan for Software Aspects of Certification
- SDP: Software Development Plan
- SVP: Software Verification Plan
- SQAP: Software Quality Assurance Plan
- SCMP: Software Configuration Management Plan
DO-178C compliance is achieved when all applicable objectives have been satisfied by performing all planned activities and capturing the related evidence. You will sometimes hear people use the term “certified” and sometimes use the term “certifiable.”
Software that has been “certified” meets the objectives defined in DO-178C for the design assurance level dictated by a project’s system safety assessment and has been given a type certificate by a civil aviation certification authority such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) showing the authority agrees that the software complies with the applicable regulations.
Want to learn more? Tonex offers Advanced DO-178C Training Workshop, a 4-day course that focuses on the aspects of DO-178C guideline, as well as its supplementary standards.
You will be introduced to the philosophy, rationale, and history behind DO-178C and will learn about the methods and techniques required to develop and implement it in your organization.
Advanced DO-178C training workshop covers the main notions behind DO-178B/C avionics certification. It also reviews the differences between DO-178B and DO-178C.
For more information, questions, comments, contact us.