On Software Certification: We Need Product-Focused Approaches

In this paper we begin by examining the “certification” of a consumer product, a baby walker, that is product-focused, i.e., the certification process requires the performance of precisely defined tests on the product with measurable outcomes. We then review current practices in software certification and contrast the software regime’s process-oriented approach to certification with the product-oriented approach typically used in other engineering disciplines. We make the case that product-focused certification is required to produce reliable software intensive systems. These techniques will have to be domain and even product specific to succeed.