<extracted from private research by Vance Hilderman>
Quality Assurance (“QA”) is arguably the most critical aspect of avionics software and hardware certification within DO-178C and DO-254. However, QA is almost never given the attention, or credit, befitting its crucial role. Consider the following statements and assess whether they are true or false; answers and explanations are provided within this paper:
Easy questions? Not at first glance; in fact, answering the above without understanding the overall DO-178C and DO-254 framework is like understanding Fourier transforms without first understanding The Calculus: impossible for mere mortals.
In DO-178 and DO-254, QA has two primary responsibilities:
In other, non-avionics development activities, “quality assurance” implies a more adjunct, and more passive, measurement role. Wikipedia, for example, aptly states QA “is the systematic measurement, comparison with a standard, monitoring of processes and an associated feedback loop that confers error prevention.” The weakness of such a traditional, yet common, QA interpretation within safety-critical systems is obvious:
In avionics, the answers to the above are simple: “Quality Assurance”. DO-178 and DO-254 are somewhat “flexible” regarding the manner in which QA processes are defined, scheduled, and performed. The Quality Assurance Plan, typically authored but always signed by QA, is one of five project-specific plans which define how that project intends to meet the applicable DO-178 and DO-254 objectives. While flexible in process, DO-178 and DO-254 are not pushovers: QA must ensure the following objectives are met:
Upon first glance, the above list of avionics QA objectives seems easy; almost obvious. In fact, in other, non-avionics development environments, “quality assurance” appears to embody similar objectives: assess product implementation to measure and improve quality. Virtually every consumer electronics product manufactured today has some form of basic quality assurance performed upon it.
However, closer examination then understanding of DO-178/254’s QA framework reveals more proactive and robust QA guidance. In avionics, there are five required plans for every safety-related airborne system. While all are important (and the FAA/EASA wisely decline to state “which” plan or objectives are most important), avionics certification experts generally agree that the order of importance of the five required plans is:
The 2nd most important plan is the QA Plan which must describe QA processes which ensure each system:
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