Ten Principles for Building Safe Embedded Software Systems

Obtaining safety certifications and pre-market approvals for safety-related systems is arduous, costly, and prone to failure. And yet such certifications and approvals are integral to the sale and market acceptance of software for a wide range of products.
Further, safe system design continues to evolve as embedded systems become more autonomous, connected, and shared. Autonomous systems pose new challenges for safety engineers.
For example, autonomous cars need to be run through a multitude of simulations, thoroughly trained, and demonstrated safe. Then there is the issue of updating software: When connected systems receive updates on the fly, it can interfere with a safety system. And shared systems risk interference from other software.
Safety must be embedded in the practices, processes, and culture of every organization building safety-critical systems. If safety-critical products are to succeed, manufacturers must look beyond strictly technical challenges to embrace the principles mentioned in this Whitepaper for building and certifying safety-critical software systems.