Integrating system modelling with safety activities

Increasing enforcement of safety standards – such as the new ISO 26262 – requires developers of embedded systems to supplement their development processes with safety-related activities, such as hazard analysis or creation of technical safety concepts. Since these activities are often only loosely coupled with core development tasks, their addition reduces efficiency and causes a lack of consistency and traceability. This paper presents an approach to the integration of architectural modelling, modelling of failure nets, allocation safety mechanisms to architectural elements, and finally traceability to requirements and test coverage. The presented methodology gives clear instructions for the comprehensive usage of existing techniques. The process is demonstrated using a real-world example from the automotive sector. In two industrial projects a significant increase of productivity could be achieved, solely using standard tools such as DOORS and IQ-RM. Nevertheless, the paper concludes with some suggestions for further enhancement of the method through formalization, e.g. using SysML, and tool integration.