Best Practices in Code Inspection for Safety-Critical Software

0 7 4 0 7 4 5 9 / 0 3 / $ 1 7 . 0 0 © 2 0 0 3 I E E E damage. But even if the software does exactly what it was specified to do, it still might not be safe if the operation scenario was unknown or not previously evaluated.1 The verification of all important aspects of safety-critical systems is obligatory, because it can save human lives and material resources.2 An important part of safety analysis is software analysis, and an important part of software analysis is code inspection. For about 20 years, our Safety Analysis Group of the University of São Paulo’s Polytechnic School has been developing a code inspection methodology inserted in a safety analysis process. The key to this methodology is a code inspection checklist that covers the main aspects that developers must verify in safetycritical applications.3,4 Our checklist is also valuable for verifying and validating nonsafety-critical applications. Every care taken in verifying an application’s code adds value to the system, improving its quality and reliability.