A reference method for airborne software requirements

This paper summarizes some definition aspects from a doctoral research that has been conducted at the Brazilian Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA). This research has the main objective of developing a Reference Method (RM) for safety-critical software requirements definition, entitled as CARD-RM. The CARD-RM can be used in some safety-critical domains. However, this paper is focused only in aviation scenario, considering the compliance with the applicable software safety standards of DO-178C and DO-331. Additionally, the CARD-RM balances agility and discipline. Agile methods is used to apply memories and histories for adjusting to new environments, reacting, adapting, taking advantage of unexpected opportunities, and updating experience basis for the future. Discipline creates repeatability and well-organized experiences. Based upon that, there is an intersection with discipline and agility. The CARD-RM also relies in reusability, since it is a reference method that can be instantiated in any safety-critical software project.