Using software document evaluations to enhance software supportability

A study has been conducted to help increase the supportability of software for complex systems, specifically, for the F-22 aircraft. The aim of the study was to identify areas of risk to software support, to develop methods to reduce that risk, and to identify metrics that would provide a strong indication of software supportability during development and after deployment. This paper provides an overview of a set of Software Document Evaluation Guidelines that was prepared to help ensure that acceptable documents will enhance software supportability and reduce software support risk. An overview is provided for: the F-22 definition of software supportability, how software document evaluations can enhance that supportability, and current guidelines use. It also defines a standardized software document evaluation process the Government is using on a sample of the software documents for the F-22 aircraft to determine their acceptability