[SystemSafety] Agile methods, experience

[Thierry.Coq at dnv.com]

Like Prof. Ladkin writes, most of us have experience in actually (trying to) build safety-critical systems using agile methods, but can’t write about it more than the general terms we use because of necessary confidentiality.

I would like to add that most Agile methods have underlying assumptions about technology either explicitly or implicitly (object-oriented, availability of frameworks, unconcern for performance, feedback from (many thousands of) users) that are not valid in the context of most real-time critical system technology. For example, most PLC languages today still work only under modular procedural paradigm (in functional block or electrical format) and are really difficult to “objectify” by hand. Any attempt to apply Agile would then have to identify all obstacles created by these assumptions and the (usually required) technology and address them in a way that does not hinder the development process too much.

Best regards,
Thierry Coq
DNV

From: systemsafety-bounces at lists.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de [mailto:systemsafety-bounces at lists.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de] On Behalf Of Peter Bernard Ladkin
Sent: mardi 3 septembre 2013 06:55
To: René Senden
Cc: systemsafety at techfak.uni-bielefeld.de
Subject: Re: [SystemSafety] Agile methods

On 2 Sep 2013, at 17:32, René Senden <rene.senden at gmail.com<mailto:rene.senden at gmail.com>> wrote:
.... I tacitly assumed that anyone who’d answer this question with “Yes”, would also include some
of the corresponding experiences …

I think some of the initial replies that you didn't like did include experience. Nancy's and Martyn's for example. If you want anecdotes, that is hoping for a bit much, since many of us work under constraints of commercial confidence and sometimes legal privilege, *especially* when dealing with systems which have safety-related function.
<…>

PBL

Prof. Peter Bernard Ladkin, University of Bielefeld and Causalis Limited

**************************************************************************************
The contents of this e-mail message and any attachments are confidential and are intended solely for the addressee. If you have received this transmission in error, please immediately notify the sender by return e-mail and delete this message and its attachments. Any unauthorized use, copying or dissemination of this transmission is prohibited. Neither the confidentiality nor the integrity of this message can be vouched for following transmission on the Internet.
**************************************************************************************
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de/mailman/private/systemsafety/attachments/20130903/3acc47b7/attachment-0001.html>