Assurance Plan for Complex Electronics:

Assurance Process: Operations and Maintenance

Once the system is operational, the role of the assurance engineer is not over. While the original project assurance engineer may have moved on to another project, some assurance engineering is still required, usually at a minimal level.

During operations, problems may be identified that can be traced to the complex electronics, or for which the device can compensate. Also, the environment within which the device is operating may change, possibly outside of the specified operating environment. When the physical environment changes or the device is used in new ways, a re-evaluation and assessment should be performed to ensure that the changes will not cause any unexpected problems.

Maintenance of complex electronics is usually required because the hardware device has broken or worn out. However, the design of the device may also be changed to:

• Correct defects (previously known or discovered during operation)
• Upgrade COTS IP modules or cores
• Add or remove features and capabilities (as requested by customer, user or operator)
• Compensate or adapt for hardware changes, wear out or failures.
• Compensate for changes in software components, such as COTS patches or upgrades

Assurance Process

Assurance activities during operations and maintenance for complex electronics include:

• Review operational and maintenance procedures for inclusion of any workarounds or other information that was discovered during development and testing.
• When operational procedures change, ensure that the changes do not use the complex electronic device in a way that was not previously verified. If the device will be used in new ways, then a risk analysis should be performed to assess possible impacts of the new operations. Further testing may be recommended.
• Support any failure review boards or help assess any problems that are identified during operations.
• If the complex electronic device is to be reprogrammed, assess the impact of the changes on the device, the system, and operational procedures. Update the traceability analysis for any changes.
• Ensure that the design data is maintained in the configuration management system, and that all changes are approved.
• Perform problem trend analysis when appropriate, based on the criticality classification of the complex electronics.

Small changes to the complex electronics (if it is reprogrammable in the field) can be handled as maintenance functions. Significant changes should go through the requirements-design-implement-test life cycle in some form. The assurance activities required by those life cycle phases should be applied in an appropriate manner, tailored to the original criticality classification of the device and the complexity and amount of change in the design.