Perspectives on safety-critical software

Software is being increasingly used in safety critical applications. These include commercial aviation, medical equipment, industrial process control, nuclear power plants, automobiles, and consumer products. Software by itself is harmless. It does not explode or electrocute its users. However, it inherits the system hazards once the system functions are allocated to software. These functions include monitoring, control, or display of safety critical functions. Developing software for such systems is both challenging and expensive. These challenges arise during requirements, implementation, verification, and maintenance of software; each of these areas is described.