Software Quality Assurance (SQA) Services
Ensuring Process Integrity for Airborne Systems
In safety-critical environments, the “how” is just as important as the “what.” Our SQA services ensure that every phase of the software life cycle—from initial planning to final certification—is compliant with DO-178C standards and your internal Software Quality Assurance Plan (SQAP).
Our SQA Core Responsibilities
We act as the objective bridge between development and certification, focusing on three primary pillars:
1. Process Assurance & Audits
We conduct systematic audits to ensure that the transition criteria between life cycle stages are met.
- Conformity Reviews: Verifying that the software product is consistent with the specified requirements.
- Stage of Involvement (SOI) Readiness: We prepare your team for the four critical FAA/EASA SOI audits (Planning, Development, Verification, and Final Certification).
2. Product Integrity
SQA ensures that the outputs of the software process are accurate and complete.
- Documentation Review: Rigorous checks of the PSAC, SAS, and SCI for consistency.
- Problem Reporting Oversight: Monitoring the lifecycle of software “bugs” or deviations to ensure they are closed with proper justification.
3. Transition Criteria Verification
We ensure that no stage of development begins until the previous stage is “SQA Approved,” preventing the “cascading error” effect in complex systems.
DO-178C Compliance & Life Cycle Data Checklist
Our SQA service oversees the generation, review, and archival of the following mandatory outputs to ensure your project is “Audit-Ready.”
1. Planning Process Outputs
SQA ensures these foundational documents are established before development begins.
- [ ] PSAC: Plan for Software Aspects of Certification
- [ ] SDP: Software Development Plan
- [ ] SVP: Software Verification Plan
- [ ] SCMP: Software Configuration Management Plan
- [ ] SQAP: Software Quality Assurance Plan
2. Development & Design Outputs
We verify that the design follows the standards defined in the planning phase.
- [ ] SRD: Software Requirements Data (High-Level Requirements)
- [ ] SDD: Software Design Description (Low-Level Requirements)
- [ ] Source Code: Verified against coding standards (MISRA/CERT) via LDRA.
- [ ] Executable Object Code: The final binary to be loaded into the hardware.
3. Verification & Test Outputs
Using our LDRA automation expertise, we ensure the following evidence is captured:
- [ ] SVCP: Software Verification Control Plan (Test Procedures)
- [ ] SVR: Software Verification Results (Test Reports)
- [ ] Structural Coverage Analysis: Proof of Statement, Decision, or MC/DC coverage.
- [ ] LTR: LDRA Tool Reports (Static and Dynamic analysis evidence).
4. Configuration & Summary Outputs
The final “Proof of Compliance” required for the closing Stage of Involvement (SOI) audits.
- [ ] SCI: Software Configuration Index (The “Master List” of all components)
- [ ] SEC: Software Lifecycle Environment Configuration (Tools and OS versions)
- [ ] SAS: Software Accomplishment Summary (The final report to the regulator)
- [ ] Problem Reports: A full history of identified issues and their resolutions.
The “Four-Eyes” Principle
For DAL A and B systems, DO-178C requires Independence. Our SQA team provides this by:
- Reviewing the work of the development team.
- Verifying that the test results (SVR) match the expected outcomes in the SVCP.
- Certifying that the LDRA tool qualification (DO-330) is correctly applied.
Strategic Partnership Benefit
Because we have partnered with two specialized software verification firms for the last two years, we have a refined transition checklist that facilitates the hand-off between the development team and the verification team. This minimizes delays during the SOI-3 (Verification) and SOI-4 (Final) audits.