INTRODUCTION

TO SOFTWARE
SAFETY
Liability & Practice

ALISHA WASEEM 2K20-BSCS-219

MAHNOOR MUZAMMIL 2K20-BSCS-215
ZAHIYA IFTIKHAR 2K20-BSCS-240
 INTRODUCTION TO SOFTWARE SAFETY
Liability & Practice
Software safety
Software safety is about creating computer programs that work correctly, without errors or security risks, to

ensure user and system well-being.

Q1: How we are looking to keep all the computer system around us safe ?

Q2: What to do if something goes wrong?

Liability & Practice

1. Liability: This means who is responsible if something bad happens. If, for example, a
computer system in a hospital fails and it causes harm, who should take the blame?

2. Practice: This refers to the ways we make sure that everything is safe. It involves creating
rules and practices to avoid problems. It's like having a set of guidelines or steps to follow so that the

computer systems in hospitals, factories, transportation, and defense work smoothly and don't cause

harm
INTRODUCTION TO SOFTWARE SAFETY
Liability & Practice

We will explore areas of legal liability and mechanisms for

regulating potentially hazardous activities as well as the factors
which should be taken into account for safety related applications
Nowadays, computer-controlled systems are to be found in a wide
range of diverse applications such as:-
• Industry: Manufacturing systems, robots etc
• Medicine: Intensive care monitoring, radiotherapy etc
• Transport: Railway signaling systems, aircraft, space shuttle
• Military and defense applications
 Introduction
1. Safety Concerns in System Design:
- When we design systems (like computer programs that control things), it's really important to
think about safety. Everyone involved in making the system needs to care about safety. Imagine
it like building a car – the people designing the engine, the brakes, and the overall structure all
need to think about safety so that the car doesn't cause accidents..
-
2. Responsibility for Safety:
- There are two extreme ways to think about who is responsible for safety. One extreme is to
say that everyone involved is responsible. The other extreme is to give all the responsibility to
just one person. The better way is somewhere in between. One person, like a quality
manager, can be in charge overall, but everyone else still needs to think about safety in their
own part of the job. It's like having a captain on a ship – the captain is in charge, but
everyone on the crew still needs to know how to keep the ship safe.
 Introduction
INTRODUCTION

3. Software in Safety-Related Systems:

Building big computer programs is hard, especially when they control important things like
medical equipment or airplanes. These are called safety-related systems because if
something goes wrong, it could be really bad. So, the software in these systems has to be
super good – it needs to be really smart and almost never make mistakes. It's like making
sure the brain of a robot is so good that it never messes up when doing something important.
 REGULATORY ISSUES

The chapter explores regulatory challenges, especially in the context of

computer-controlled systems.

- Factors affecting regulation effectiveness include technical control

problems, societal and individual perceptions of risk, and the complexity of
computer-controlled systems.

- The ultimate objective of regulation is to protect individuals and society

from harm caused by uncontrolled hazards.
 REGULATORY ISSUES

Standards:
Standards are defined as documents established by consensus, providing rules,
guidelines, or characteristics for common and repeated use to achieve the optimum
degree of order in a given context.

Use of appropriate standards is both a familiar and traditional technique for

regulating hazardous activities and attempting to ensure the safety of a product
 REGULATORY ISSUES

• Development of Safety Standards:

- Safety standards for systems containing software have been developed by both
specific industry sectors and international standards bodies.
- The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has played a significant role
in formulating standards related to the safety of software in various applications.
 REGULATORY ISSUES

IEC Standards on Functional Safety:

- The IEC began work on draft standards in the 1980s, covering functional
safety of safety-related systems. These standards aimed to identify the safety
level needed and provide techniques for achieving it.
- Draft standards faced challenges, leading to restructuring efforts in the 1990s.
The resulting IEC 61508 standard covers general requirements, software
requirements, definitions, and methods for determining safety integrity levels.
 CERTIFICATION AND LICENSING:
Certification and licensing are forms of direct regulation applied to
products and practitioners.
Certification implies conformity to specified standards, while
licensing means a product or practitioner must have a license to
operate or be marketed

Stringency of Licensing: Licensing is considered more restrictive than

certification, often justified in safety-critical situations. Licensing can
prevent a product or practitioner from entering the market altogether.
PROFESSIONAL CODES OF PRACTICE:

Professional and trade associations should devise codes of practice to govern

their members
- Role of Professional Associations: Professional and trade associations
develop codes of practice for their members. While not legally binding on
their own, these codes can have legal effects if incorporated into contracts.
- Safety Concerns in Software Engineering: The software industry, recognizing
the legal implications of safety-related issues, has seen the development of
codes of practice and guidelines to address responsibilities in safety-critical
software development.
 REGULATION BY LAW
Regulation by law:
- Legal Regulation: The law serves as a regulatory mechanism directly or
indirectly. It may require compliance with standards, incorporate
regulations into statutes, or act as a deterrent through the threat of
litigation.
Challenges of Legal Regulation: Legal regulation can lag behind
technological advancements. There's a discussion about whether safety-
critical functions should be performed only by "competent" individuals,
raising questions about competence assessment and the relationship
between qualifications and practical ability.
 LEGAL LIABILITY
Introduction
System designers and software engineers may have legal responsibilities under
statutes such as the Health and Safety

Product liability and the Consumer Protection Act 1987

Product liability is the area of law in which manufacturers, distributors,
suppliers and retailers are held responsible for any injuries products cause.

Regardless of any contractual limitations of liability, if a product or any of its

component parts are defective its manufacturer may be liable for damage under
the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) or the common law of negligence
 LEGAL LIABILITY
Negligence
Negligence may be claimed if the manufacturer or system designer has failed to
take due care in the construction or design of the system, and this lack of care
has resulted in failure leading to the injury
. Professional Negligence: Software engineers may fall into a category where
they implicitly warrant to produce a particular result. Departure from standards
requires justification, and adherence to professional codes is important.
 COMPETENCE, TRAINING AND
EXPERIENCE

• Competence means “knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge”

• There is an understood assumption that all those engaged in the design and
development of safety system software are competent to perform the
necessary tasks
• Factors such as training and relevant experience are also considered
important traits for a competent software engineer
 FACTORS AFFECTING SYSTEM SAFETY

• Hazard analysis
• Requirements and specification
• System Reliability and safety
• Design
• Testing and debugging
• Safety integrity analysis and risk assessment
• Documentation
THANK YOU