Automated DO-178C Compliance Summary through Evidence Curation

Saswata Paul, Christopher Alexander, Michael Durling, Kit Siu, Daniel Prince, Baoluo Meng, Sarat Chandra Varanasi, Douglas Stuart

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

To achieve software compliance with certification standards like DO-178C, it is crucial to establish a comprehensive certification plan. Plan for Software Aspects of Certification (PSAC) is a commonly employed approach in the aerospace industry to serve as a guideline for ensuring that all artifacts produced along the software development life-cycle adhere to the objectives listed in DO-178C. More importantly, PSAC is the primary means used by the certification authority to assess whether the developed software meets the necessary criteria. The complexity and heterogeneity of the certification evidence makes it challenging to keep track of compliance status in a tool-agnostic manner while engineers are generating certification evidence. To address these challenges, in this paper, we present a holistic approach that allows periodic tracking and review of DO-178C compliance guided by a formal PSAC throughout the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stages of involvement (SOI) using a data curation system called Rapid Assurance Curation Kit (RACK). We present an interactive Eclipse-based compliance dashboard for RACK that allows users to navigate and explore between the DO-178C hierarchy of tables, objectives, and relevant evidence that are automatically assembled and presented on the dashboard. Finally, upon fulfillment of the requirements outlined in the PSAC, the certification artifacts can be compiled into a comprehensive certification package. The package can subsequently be reviewed by the certification authority assisted by our dashboard, which allows them to replay the process and examine the obtained results, and ultimately endorse the certification.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationDASC 2023 - Digital Avionics Systems Conference, Proceedings
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
ISBN (Electronic)9798350333572
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023
Externally publishedYes
Event42nd IEEE/AIAA Digital Avionics Systems Conference, DASC 2023 - Barcelona, Spain
Duration: 1 Oct 20235 Oct 2023

Publication series

NameAIAA/IEEE Digital Avionics Systems Conference - Proceedings
ISSN (Print)2155-7195
ISSN (Electronic)2155-7209

Conference

Conference42nd IEEE/AIAA Digital Avionics Systems Conference, DASC 2023
Country/TerritorySpain
CityBarcelona
Period1/10/235/10/23

Keywords

  • Certification
  • Compliance Visualization
  • DO-178C
  • PSAC
  • Semantic Model

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