Software assessment to support certification for an existing computer-based system

Industry and government recognize that as equipment functionality migrates from hardware control to software control, greater emphasis must be placed on verification of software. Particularly, issues regarding verification of safety within software design have captured the attention of these groups. Research and development work over the past decade has provided insight into the complex issues surrounding software safety. The result of this work is that software analysis techniques have been adopted which provide a means for safety certification. This paper is concerned with the application of software analysis on existing computer-based systems in order to improve the software safety design and achieve certification. The focus of the paper is assessment of the HUD multipurpose display as a case study for such analyses