Special Issue on Safety-Critical Software Systems
Submission Deadline: 1 October 2012
Publication: May/June 2013
We are becoming increasingly dependent on devices whose software-based artifacts impact our safety. Such is the case in the aviation, automotive, medical, nuclear, and railways sectors, as well as others. The development of safety-critical software systems encompasses a wide set of challenges including software engineering methods, tools, and frameworks. Applying new paradigms and solutions—such as model-based approaches (MDA/MDE), reuse techniques, cloud computing, and so on—provides an overwhelming set of benefits related to software development, cost reduction, and certification.
Safety-critical software system development encompasses a wide variety of challenges including methods, tools, and frameworks. Recently, new standards have been released relating to the development of critical software systems such as DO178C, CENELEC 50128, ISO 26262, and IEC 61508. Despite different domain evidence in these standards, software engineering techniques can be successfully applied to safety-critical software systems.
Readers will learn about industry experiences and empirical studies from applying software engineering principles to this domain. This special issue will emphasize the role of software development processes, architecture models, and certification issues with articles addressing case studies, experience reports, practices, approaches, techniques, and guidelines.
IEEE Software seeks submissions for a special issue on safety-critical software systems. Possible topics include:
- Architecture models for safety critical software systems: model-based approaches (for example, model-driven architectures and formal methods), development, and engineering.
- Software development in safety-critical software systems: agile methods and heavyweight methods.
- Certification: the evolution of certified products, components, and processes; the reuse of certified parts; modular certification; and recertification.
- Safety analysis: failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) and fault-tree analysis (FTA).
- Relationships between safety and security in safety-critical software systems.
- Verification and validation in safety-critical software systems.
- Return on investment (ROI) in critical software: Providing an economic point-of-view, associated costs (direct and indirect costs), and calculation and enhancement of ROI.
- The latest practical experiences applying software engineering trends to the critical software domain.
Questions?
For more information about the focus, contact the Guest Editors:
- Xabier Larrucea, Tecnalia Research & Innovation
- Annie Combelles, inspearit
- John Favaro, Intecs SpA
Submission Guidelines
Manuscripts must not exceed 4,700 words including figures and tables, which count for 200 words each. Submissions in excess of these limits may be rejected without refereeing. The articles we deem within the theme and scope will be peer-reviewed and are subject to editing for magazine style, clarity, organization, and space. We reserve the right to edit the title of all submissions. Be sure to include the name of the theme or special issue you are submitting for.
Articles should have a practical orientation and be written in a style accessible to practitioners. Overly complex, purely research-oriented or theoretical treatments are not appropriate. Articles should be novel. IEEE Software does not republish material published previously in other venues, including other periodicals and formal conference/workshop proceedings, whether previous publication was in print or in electronic form.
For full author guidelines: www.computer.org/software/author.htm
For submission details: software@computer.org
To submit an article: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/sw-cs