DO 178C Tutorial
DO 178C tutorial is designed by TONEX to help you improve your overall information about DO-178C. This tutorial allows you to gain some insights on what DO-178C is, who invented it, what purposes it serves, and how you can benefit from it. You also will learn about the common standards, tools, and methods associated with DO-178C. This tutorial is more like a learning guideline to show you the knowledge and skills you need to know to be able to use DO-178C in the most efficient way.
DO-178C Definition
DO-178C is an international standard known as “Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification”. DO-178C usually comes with ED-12C and is an upgrade version of DO-178B/ED-12B, published jointly by RTCA and EUROCAE.
DO-178C/ED-12C based on which all the commercial avionic systems software get accepted or declined by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA, USA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
Origin of DO-178C
As mentioned above, DO-178C is the modified and updated version of DO-178B/ED-12B (1992), which itself was a successor of DO-178A (1985) and DO-178 (1980). Later on, in 2013, in order to improve the standard, eliminate some inconsistencies, and add new techniques, the United Stated Federal Aviation Administration upgraded the DO-178B/ED-12B to its current version, DO-178C-ED-12C.
DO-178C Goals and Objectives
- Concentrating on software by determining the interfaces only in regards to system and hardware aspects
- Concentrating on the concept of criticality levels for software (SW level), resultant of the associated ‘Failure Condition’
- Concentrating on the description of software life cycle processes and determination of quality requirements for each process, established on the specific SW level
- Focusing on the definition of necessary documents for each SW level, determining an inclusive content framework
- Concentrating on objectives, SW level applicability, and necessary results to fulfill quality goals
DO-178C Point of View
- Employing only the ‘planned’ operation(s) (and nothing else)
- Establishing more serious criteria for the safety-critical applications
- Applying a ‘V’-model strategy for all development cycles (SW, HW and systems), their elements of which depend on each other and demonstrate clear interfaces
DO-178C Main Processes
- Planning
- Providing process criteria
- Designing
- Coding
- Integrating
- Software Aspects of Certification Planning (SACP)
- Software Verification Planning (SVP)
- Software Configuration Management Planning (SCMP)
- Software Quality Assurance Planning (SQAP)
- Certification liaison
In order to perform the above essential activities, you need to know the appropriate tools and techniques. Some of the most common tools are as follow:
DO-178C Main Tools
- Model-Based Design (MBD)
- Model-Based Development and Verification
- Object-Oriented (OO) languages commercial
- Off-The-Shelf Software (COTS)
- Formal Methods (FM)
- Mathworks and Simulink
DO-178C ‘Level A’ compliant Software Life-Cycle Data Analysis
- Software Aspects of Certification (PSAC)
- Software Development and Verification Plan
- Software Configuration Management Plan
- Software Quality Assurance Plan
- Software Requirements Standards
- Software Design Standards
- Software Code Standards
- Applicable Verified Software to Source Code
- Applicable Verified Software to Execute Code
- Software Design Document
- Software Requirements Description
- Software Verification Test Cases
- Software Verification Results
- Software Life Cycle Environment Configuration Index
- Software Configuration Index
- Problem Reports
- Software Configuration Management Records
- Software Quality Assurance Records
- Traceability Matrices
- Tool Accomplishment Summary
- Software Accomplishment Summary (SAS)
- Object -Technologies (OOT)
- Tool Qualification Plan
- Tool Accomplishment Summary
- Safety Analysis Data (external to DO-178C)
- System Level Criteria (external to DO-178C)
DO-178C Security Perspectives
- Cryptography
- Secure access
- Secure access control
- Protect from intrusions
- Protected information
- Data integrity assurance
- Safety considerations
- Risk reduction
- Hazard assessment
- Vulnerability evaluation
- Integrated safety and security strategies
How Can You Learn More About DO-178C?
Below is the list of the hands-on training courses TONEX offers at this time. Find out which one serves your needs the most. And, don’t forget to check back frequently, as we constantly update and add to our trainings:
DO-178 Training | DO-178C Training | DO-254 Training
Avionic Systems Engineering Crash Course
DO-178C Tutorial