Efficient Software Component Reuse in Safety-Critical Systems – An Empirical Study

The development of software components to be reused in safety-critical systems involves a number of challenges. These are related to both the goals of using the component in several systems, with different definitions of system-specific hazards, and on the high demands of today’s safety standards, which assume a top-down system and software development process. A large part of the safety-related activities is therefore left for integrator, and there is a risk that a pre-existing component will neither be feasible nor more efficient to use than internal development of the same functionality. In this paper we address five important challenges, based on an empirical study consisting of interviews with experts in the field, and a case study. The result is twelve concrete practices found to improve the overall efficiency of such component development, and their subsequent reuse. These are related to the component architecture and configuration interface, component and system testing and verification, and the information to be provided with the component.