The objective of this study was to survey the different tools currently in use for the development of programmable Airborne Electronic Hardware which are or will be used in safety critical applications, assess their functionalities and configurability options, and derive detailed recommendations and guidelines for their effective and safe use in the development of programmable devices and, in particular, concerning their configuration options. By this, the primary intent was to assess the best-practices and known issues in using a set of commercial tools from a survey of past experiences and consultation of designers and tool editors.
The study does encompass the typical tasks supported by tools including design (conceptual and detailed design), validation and verification processes and this for development assurance levels A, B and C defined by EUROCAE ED-80. The current set of commercial tools used for the development of civil aviation applications were considered, involving a consultation of aircraft and equipment manufacturers in support of the tool selection.