Safety Case Development
Building structured, assessor-ready safety arguments that demonstrate acceptable safety for automotive systems
What You'll Learn
Build complete competency in safety case development through structured, progressive learning.
Structure safety arguments
Build logically complete and well-structured safety arguments using GSN or CAE notation
Map work products to evidence
Systematically link all ISO 26262 work products to safety case evidence nodes with complete traceability
Apply argument patterns
Use reusable argument patterns to efficiently construct common safety case argument branches
Assess argument confidence
Evaluate the strength and completeness of safety case arguments using structured confidence assessment techniques
Manage safety case changes
Perform structured change impact analysis to maintain safety case integrity when design modifications occur
Pass safety assessments
Present a compelling safety case that satisfies independent Functional Safety Assessment requirements
14 Comprehensive Chapters
Each chapter builds your safety case development expertise systematically from foundations to advanced application.
What is a Safety Case
Define the safety case concept, its purpose in ISO 26262, and how it differs from simple documentation collection.
GSN Framework
Learn Goal Structuring Notation (GSN), the most widely used language for expressing structured safety arguments in automotive safety cases.
CAE Framework
Explore Claims-Argument-Evidence (CAE) as an alternative safety case framework and understand when to choose CAE over GSN.
Safety Case Strategy
Select and justify an overall argument strategy for the safety case: assurance by compliance, argument by elimination, or probabilistic argument.
Modular Structure
Design a modular safety case architecture that separates system-level, hardware, software, and supporting process arguments for maintainability.
Claims-Evidence-Argument
Practice linking safety claims to specific evidence sources and constructing logically sound arguments that bridge the two.
Argument Patterns
Apply reusable argument patterns for common safety case structures including compliance, test adequacy, and safety mechanism effectiveness.
ISO 26262 Work Product Integration
Map all ISO 26262 work products to safety case evidence nodes and ensure complete traceability from safety goals to verification records.
Confidence Assessment
Apply confidence assessment techniques including dependability cases and claim adequacy reviews to evaluate argument strength.
Incremental Development
Build the safety case incrementally alongside product development, establishing baseline arguments at each project phase gate.
Change Impact Analysis
Perform structured change impact analysis on the safety case when design changes occur to identify which argument branches require update.
Lifecycle Maintenance
Establish processes to maintain the safety case through the complete product lifecycle including production, field feedback, and updates.
Common Gaps
Identify the most frequently cited safety case gaps from functional safety assessments and learn how to proactively close them.
Best Practices
Synthesize best practices for creating clear, complete, and compelling safety cases that efficiently satisfy assessor requirements.
6 Safety Case Structure Diagrams
Experiment with visual tools that bring safety case development concepts to life.
GSN Notation Reference
Complete GSN element reference diagram showing goals, strategies, solutions, contexts, justifications, assumptions, and module symbols
Safety Case Hierarchy
Top-level safety case structure diagram from item safety goals through subsystem claims to work product evidence nodes
Argument Pattern Library
Collection of reusable GSN argument patterns for compliance, test adequacy, safety mechanism effectiveness, and completeness claims
Evidence Traceability Map
Traceability diagram mapping ISO 26262 mandatory work products to safety case evidence nodes for a complete ASIL D item
Confidence Assessment Model
Diagram showing the confidence assessment process for safety case claims including claim adequacy review and defeater identification
Safety Case Change Propagation
Impact analysis diagram showing how a design change propagates through the safety case argument structure requiring re-evidence
Safety Case for an ASIL D Steering Control Unit
A Tier-1 supplier built a GSN-based safety case for an ASIL D electric power steering unit. The initial assessment returned 31 findings; 28 were traceable to missing evidence links in the safety case rather than actual design gaps. A structured remediation reduced re-assessment findings to zero.
- Safety case comprised 847 GSN nodes across 6 modules (system, HW, SW, SEooC, supporting processes, validation)
- Evidence traceability matrix linked 312 work products to 634 safety case evidence nodes
- Change impact analysis on post-assessment design changes identified 7 argument branches for update
- Final assessment confirmed safety case with zero major findings from three independent assessors
GSN Safety Case Template
Master Safety Case Development
Build compelling, assessor-ready safety cases using GSN and CAE frameworks with complete traceability to ISO 26262 work products
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