Higher Standards: Best Avionics Software Quality Assurance Practices (Part 2)

Welcome to part 2 of our 2-part article series – Higher Standards: Best Avionics Software Quality Assurance Practices. If you haven’t read part 1 yet, we encourage you to do so whenever convenient, though we did our best to make sure both parts can fly solo, so to speak. That said, the articles make a phenomenally informative pair for comprehensively explaining the processes, procedures and best practices involved in Software Quality Assurance (SQA) for Avionics and Aerospace. In part 1, we discussed why SQA is such a crucial part of any avionics software development lifecycle, laid out the phases of Continue Reading > > >

Higher Standards: Best Avionics Software Quality Assurance Practices (Part 1)

In the age of internet dating and unprecedented restaurant closures, you might need to occasionally lower some standards to make the most of daily life. Generally, however, it’s always good to set standards high for your professional, personal, and yes, cuisine-related interests. One (professional) aspect of life where it’s always important to keep high standards: software quality assurance. A related aspect where the highest standards should be applied, and never lowered: Avionics software quality assurance. Without the proper quality assurance processes and practices in place, you run the risk of missing errors and flaws in your Avionics software’s design and Continue Reading > > >

The Importance of Avionics Software Project Planning

No matter the industry or role, planning is a crucial part of any task’s successful completion. Well thought-out, SMART-goal driven plans help set the scene for activities, letting every stakeholder “see” the desired outcome, and how, when and even why that outcome will be achieved. When it comes to avionics, a great plan and “sticking to it” will invariably make or break your project. In this article, we’re focusing on avionics software development and how to plan with DO-178C and related DALs in mind. We’ll start with a quick list of the primary components that every good DO-178C-related plan, and Continue Reading > > >

It All Starts with DAL

I was tempted to title this article “DAL starts with DAL,” the first abbreviation read as if to say the should-never-exist contraction “it’DAL…” and I’m glad I didn’t. The beginning of any project, be it writing an article or developing aerospace software, is crucial. Arguably, it’s the most crucial piece of its success. For virtually every avionics and aerospace project type or discipline, it really does “all start with DAL.” DALs, Design Assurance Levels, are the key measures assigned to software and hardware functions used to determine the level of stringency applied to different components of an avionics system. Be Continue Reading > > >