Open source components in safety critical systems

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Open source components in safety critical
systems

• Suvi-Maaret Suomalainen
• 7.12.2004

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Content

• Introduction
• QA for safety critical system
• QA in open source development
• Examples
• Conclusions

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Introduction (1/2)

• Background
• - use of safety critical system
• - closed automation system
• - quality of OSS
• Motivation
• - closed system
• - few suppliers
• - high prices

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Introduction (2/2)

• Research Problem and objectives
• Can components of the safety critical software be
  open source components?
• Comparing OSS quality assurance to the
  requirements of IEC 61508
• Method
• Literature study
• INSPEC and IEEE databases
• Scope
• European IEC 61508
• Verification methods
• No hardware requirements

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QA for safety critical system

• Safety plan
• software lifecycle
• Testing
• test plans in early phases
• documentation
• test tools and environments
• testing independence
• Testing techniques
• dynamic
• static
• modeling

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QA in open source projects

• No project plan
• good configuration tools
• change management differs
• No testing plans
• Different techniques
• Testing independence
• No documents
• Highly motivated developers

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Examples

• Most used Linux (OS and real time OS)
• CVS repositories
• Bug database
• Documentation volunteer work
• Others used in user interfaces and specification
  tool (not so safety critical)
• NASA experiences
• Project maturity
• Project longevity
• Flexibililty

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Conclusions

• Differences between IEC 61508 and OSS
• test plans
• testing techniques mainly dynamic
• documentation
• change management
• OSS cant be used as such
• management for the developer of the safety system
• testing and documenting

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