Design, development and qualification of class IB software: A case study

In this paper, we present a case study on development of software for class-IB systems of a nuclear reactor. International standards and engineering procedures do exist for development of software for class-IB instrumentation and control (I&C) systems. Conformance to these standards is the primary requirement for software to be subjected to class-IB qualification. However, there is a gap between these standards and software development process. For any software developer, clearly defined objectives and a step by step procedure to fulfill those objectives to meet the class-IB qualification is required. The case study presented in this paper narrates a systematic and reviewable engineering process, which meets the identified objectives necessary for claiming a software worthy of class-IB systems of nuclear reactors.