Standard · Embedded Software & Tools
DO-178C (Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification)
The airborne software assurance standard defining objectives by design assurance level from A to E, covering planning, development, verification, configuration management and quality assurance.
Level A requires MC/DC coverage.
- Also known as
- RTCA DO-178C, EUROCAE ED-12C
- Type
- Standard
- Domain
- Embedded Software & Tools, Software quality and safety
Notes
Its supplements add model-based development, object-oriented technology and formal methods as alternative means of compliance.
Overview
DO-178C, Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification, is the RTCA document that sets the objectives software must meet before it can be approved for use on certified aircraft. It defines planning, development, verification, configuration management and quality assurance objectives, scaled by a software level from A, the most critical, to E. Published in December 2011 alongside its European twin EUROCAE ED-12C, it is recognised by the US Federal Aviation Administration as an acceptable means of compliance.
How it works
The aircraft's system safety assessment looks at what happens if a function fails and classifies the worst effect, from catastrophic down to no safety effect. That classification sets the software level: Level A for software whose failure could contribute to a catastrophic failure condition, then B, C and D, with Level E having no safety effect. The higher the level, the more objectives must be met and the more of them must be checked independently.
DO-178C is goal based rather than prescriptive. It requires plans for development and verification, high-level and low-level requirements traced to each other and to code and tests, reviews and analyses, and evidence that the verification was thorough. Structural coverage analysis measures how much of the code the requirements-based tests exercised: statement coverage, decision coverage and, at Level A, modified condition/decision coverage (MC/DC), which shows that each condition in a decision independently affects the outcome.
A set of supplements adapts the core document: DO-330 for qualifying tools, and DO-331, DO-332 and DO-333 for model-based development, object-oriented techniques and formal methods. FAA Advisory Circular AC 20-115D recognises DO-178C and these supplements. Hardware is handled separately: complex custom devices such as FPGAs and ASICs follow DO-254, recognised through AC 20-152A.
Examples
- A flight control computer whose software is developed to Level A, with MC/DC coverage measured on the final code.
- Software built with model-based design tools, using the DO-331 supplement alongside DO-178C.
- A static analysis or test tool qualified under DO-330 so that its output can be used as certification evidence.
- An FPGA design for an avionics unit handled under DO-254 while the processor software on the same board follows DO-178C.
Why it matters
Avionics firmware, flight control software and the software stacks running on processors in aircraft equipment must all meet DO-178C, so it shapes how embedded software teams plan, write and test code for this market. Chip vendors whose processors, FPGAs and software kits are designed into aircraft equipment may supply documentation and tools that help customers meet its objectives.
Related terms
Part of the Embedded Software & Tools glossary, with every term in the topic and the lifecycles, tools and standards that use them.
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Lifecycle stages and gates
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