Agile Software Development Methodologies for Safety Critical Systems

The aim of my research is to discover possible application of agile for development of safety critical systems. Initially I have performed a detailed and methodological systematic literature review. It highlights the main hurdles for application of agile development methodologies for development of safety-critical systems. It also provides a comprehensive view of current state of literature regarding this topic. After successful completion of literature review I was able to list down major contradictions among agile approaches and safety-critical systems’ traditional development approaches. Further I have also figured out possible directions of solutions. Based on literature review I conclude that when security practices are included in any agile development process model they have reverberations on agility of that model to an extent where it cannot be called agile any more. To address this issue I have proposed a method to calculate the effect on agility of process model after inclusion of security practices. Secondly, I found through systematic literature review that Agile methods cannot be applied to development of safety-critical systems in their original form. Certain amendments or changes are required to find a middle ground where agile is adapted for such systems while respecting the safety standards. I worked further on this idea and proposed an approach which is hybrid model based on agile principles and safety critical systems’ development standards. I have worked on different stages of software development life cycle and proposed an approach for all phases of Requirements, phases of Testing and Communication strategies among teams.