Integration standards for critical software intensive systems

"Integration" is a term that is often misused and misunderstood. The existence of integration as an activity in system development is undeniable. Its existence as a phase of the system lifecycle which requires planning and management is, however, frequently ignored. This omission is undesirable, particularly in critical systems where lack of integration planning may affect the system's ability to meet its criticality objectives. Not surprisingly, this confusion is reflected in many standards. This paper identifies the ways in which various critical systems standards deal with integration and, as a corollary, suggests possible standardisation activities as well as ways in which organisations relying on software-intensive systems for critical functions can approach this problem.