SafeSpection - A framework for systematization and customization of software hazard identification by applying inspection concepts

Abstract

In the last decades, software has become an integral part of safety critical systems such as medical devices or automobiles. With the support of software, features can be implemented that are hard to realize with pure hardware solutions. However, as an integral part of these systems, software is as any other component a potential source for system level hazards. Hence, there is a need to integrate software safety analyses into the development process to identify and evaluate software causes for hazardous situation on system level. Today, techniques such as failure mode and effect analysis, fault tree analysis, and hazard and operability studies are applied for this purpose. SafeSpection provides a framework to customize the software hazard identification step of these analyses to a given domain- and development-context. A step by step approach guides a safety engineer to identify the relevant characteristics of the application context of the software. With the support of the two SafeSpection concepts guide-phrases and tailoring concepts this information can be systematically convert into applicable, project-specific software hazard identification approaches. Doing so, the results of software hazard identification becomes a repeatable and efficient effort