Comparing Software Safety Engineering with Software Integrity Methods and TechniquesThe Implications to Future Department of Defense Acquisitions

摘要

The design and development of safety-critical, software-intensive systems within the US Department of Defense(DoD) has relied on the implementation of software safety engineering and management techniques for the lastseveral decades. In this same period of time other government agencies and commercial entities focused onmandates to help develop highly predictable and “safe” software in applications where the consequence of failure iseither unacceptable or a high-risk liability. While most developers of safety-critical software recognized the need orexperienced the contractual mandate to develop safe software, the techniques and methods to accomplish thisobjective were in many instances quite different. One group focused on “software safety” techniques while othersfocused on “Software Assurance and Software Integrity” methods. When analyzed and assessed, these differencesare not mutually exclusive, in fact, they very complementary. Future DoD software developments in safety-criticalsystems must integrate software safety engineering with software assurance and integrity methods. The end resultwill be safer systems.