1. Purpose and scope
Verification in avionics is requirements-based. Every test exists because a requirement asks for the behaviour it checks, and every requirement is verified by test, review or analysis as the plans state. Coverage measures are then used to find what requirements-based testing missed: untested logic in hardware, or code not exercised by tests in software, which may reveal a missing requirement, a test gap, dead code or deactivated code that needs justification.
For software, DO-178C asks for structural coverage whose rigour rises with the assurance level, up to modified condition and decision coverage at level A, together with data coupling and control coupling analysis and, at the highest level, analysis of object code that does not trace to source. For hardware, DO-254 relies on requirements-based verification, and for levels A and B adds an advanced method, such as elemental analysis, safety-specific analysis or formal methods. Tests that count as evidence run on the target, or on a representative environment the authority accepts. The stage closes the system safety assessment for the baseline.
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