Software Safety

Where do we start?

Our director of consulting, David "Hunter" Levan, one of the pioneers in this area, is known throughout the world.

Our expertise in software safety (sometimes referred to as software system safety) dates back to 1986. In those days, and in a few years to follow, software safety was not a popular concept. We were educating many people. This came with one down side; however, when we received an anonymous threat to cease.

We have first-hand experience with software safety programs performed concurrently with system development.

We have first-hand experience in forensic analysis of software-related accidents including the THERAC-25.

We have been teaching one of the most famous and practical courses in software safety since 1992.

We speak your language whether it be

• Software Safety Program Plans,
• Software Control Categories (SCCs),
• Safety Integrity Levels (SILs),
• Software Development Assurance Levels (SDALs),
• SoftWare Assurance Levels (SWALs),
• Software FMEA,
• Software FMECA,
• Software FTA,
• Formal Methods,
• N-Version Programming,
• Software Safety Assurance Concepts,
• Software Assertions,
• RTOS,
• Language Subsets,
• Software Safety Cases,
• AMCOM 385-17,
• IEC 61508,
• ED-153,
• IEEE 1228,
• EN 50128,
• IEEE 1483,
• Joint Software Systems Safety Engineering Handbook,
• AOP-52, or
• NASA Software Safety Guidebook.

Still, to this day, there are many people who believe software safety maps to testing, requirements reviews, design reviews, and code reviews only. Wrong!

Ask 10 people what software safety means and you will most likely get 10 different answers. This is scary! There is a "right" answer. And, just in case you aviation people are wondering, it is not RTCA DO-178C.

By they way, are you interested in software quantification (i.e., estimating software failure rates / software probabilities of failure)? If so, you have come to the right place.

Need some analyses performed, expert advice or comprehensive training? We are here for you.