1 | .. SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-SA-4.0 |
---|
2 | |
---|
3 | .. Copyright (C) 2016, 2018 RTEMS Foundation, The RTEMS Documentation Project |
---|
4 | .. Copyright (C) 1988, 2008 On-Line Applications Research Corporation (OAR) |
---|
5 | |
---|
6 | Introduction to Pre-Qualification |
---|
7 | ********************************* |
---|
8 | |
---|
9 | RTEMS has a long history of being used to support critical |
---|
10 | applications. In some of these application domains, there are standards |
---|
11 | (e.g., DO-178C, NPR 7150.2) which define the expectations for the |
---|
12 | processes used to develop software and the associated artifacts. These |
---|
13 | standards typically do not specify software functionality but address |
---|
14 | topics like requirements definition, traceability, having a documented |
---|
15 | change process, coding style, testing requirements, and a user's |
---|
16 | manual. During system test, these standards call for a review - usually |
---|
17 | by an independent entity - that the standard has been adhered too. These |
---|
18 | reviews cover a broad variety of topics and activities, but the process |
---|
19 | is generally referred to as qualification, verification, or auditing |
---|
20 | against the specific standard in use. The RTEMS Project will use the |
---|
21 | term "qualification" independent of the standard. |
---|
22 | |
---|
23 | The goal of the RTEMS Qualification Project is to make RTEMS easier |
---|
24 | to review regardless of the standard chosen. Quite specifically, |
---|
25 | the RTEMS Qualification effort will NOT produce a directly qualified |
---|
26 | product or artifacts in the format dictated by a specific organization |
---|
27 | or standard. The goal is to make RTEMS itself, documentation, testing |
---|
28 | infrastructure, etc. more closely align with the information requirements |
---|
29 | of these high integrity qualification standards. In addition to improving |
---|
30 | the items that a mature, high quality open source project will have, |
---|
31 | there are additional artifacts needed for a qualification effort that |
---|
32 | no known open source project possesses. Specifically, requirements and |
---|
33 | the associated traceability to source code, tests, and documentation |
---|
34 | are needed. |
---|
35 | |
---|
36 | The RTEMS Qualification Project is technically |
---|
37 | "pre-qualification." True qualification must be performed on the |
---|
38 | project's target hardware in a system context. The FAA has provided |
---|
39 | guidance for Reusable Software Components (FAA-AC20-148) and this |
---|
40 | effort should follow that guidance. The open RTEMS Project, with the |
---|
41 | assistance of domain experts, will possess and maintain the master |
---|
42 | technical information needed in a qualification effort. Consultants |
---|
43 | will provide the services required to tailor the master information, |
---|
44 | perform testing on specific system hardware, and to guide end users in |
---|
45 | using the master technical data in the context of a particular standard. |
---|
46 | |
---|
47 | The RTEMS Qualification Project will broadly address two areas. The |
---|
48 | first area is suggesting areas of improvement for automated project |
---|
49 | infrastructure and the master technical data that has traditionally been |
---|
50 | provided by the RTEMS Project. For example, the RTEMS Qualification could |
---|
51 | suggest specific improvements to code coverage reports. The teams focused |
---|
52 | on qualification should be able to provide resources for improving the |
---|
53 | automated project infrastructure and master technical data for RTEMS. The |
---|
54 | term "resources" is often used by open source projects to refer to |
---|
55 | volunteer code contributions or funding. Although code contributions in |
---|
56 | this area are important and always welcome, funding is also important. At |
---|
57 | a minimum, ongoing funding is needed for maintenance and upgrades of |
---|
58 | the RTEMS Project server infrastructure, addition of services to those |
---|
59 | servers, and core contributors to review submissions |
---|
60 | |
---|
61 | The second area is the creation and maintenance of master technical |
---|
62 | data that has traditionally not been owned or maintained by the RTEMS |
---|
63 | Project. The most obvious example of this is a requirements set with |
---|
64 | proper infrastructure for tracing requirements through code to test |
---|
65 | and documentation. It is expected that these will be maintained by the |
---|
66 | RTEMS Qualification Project. They will be evaluated for adoption by |
---|
67 | the main RTEMS Project but the additional maintenance burden imposed |
---|
68 | will be a strong factor in this consideration. It behooves the RTEMS |
---|
69 | Qualification Project to limit dependence on manual checks and ensure |
---|
70 | that automation and ongoing support for that automation is contributed |
---|
71 | to the RTEMS Project. |
---|
72 | |
---|
73 | It is expected that the RTEMS Qualification Project will create and |
---|
74 | maintain maps from the RTEMS master technical data to the various |
---|
75 | qualification standards. It will maintain "scorecards" which |
---|
76 | identify how the RTEMS Project is currently doing when reviewed per each |
---|
77 | standard. These will be maintained in the open as community resources |
---|
78 | which will guide the community in improving its infrastructure. |
---|