DO178-B has become a de facto standard. Produced by Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics, Inc. (RTCA), the FAA's Advisory Circular AC20-115B established DO178-B as the accepted means of certifying all new aviation software.
DO178-B is primarily concerned with development processes. As a result, certification to DO178-B requires delivery of multiple supporting documents and records. The quantity of items needed for DO178-B certification, and the amount of information that they must contain, is determined by the level of certification being sought.
The targeted DO178-B certification level is either A, B, C, D, or E. Correspondingly, these DO178-B levels describe the consequences of a potential failure of the software: catastrophic, hazardous-severe, major, minor, or no-effect.
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All items are not required at all certification levels. |
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| DO178-B Documents: | DO178-B Records: |
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The DO178-B certification process is most demanding at higher levels. A product certified to DO178-B level A would have the largest potential market, but it would require thorough, labor-intensive preparation of most of the items on the DO178-B support list.
Conversely, a product certifying to DO178-B level E would require fewer support items and be less taxing on company resources. Unfortunately, the product would have a smaller range of applicability than if certified at a higher level.
Take advantage of LynuxWorks™' experience in helping customers build DO-178B certification materials for their avionics systems.
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