Title: Safety Case Development | ISO 26262 Academy URL: https://iso26262.academy/features/concepts/safety-case Description: Learn how to structure claims, evidence, and arguments using GSN or CAE notation into a living safety case. --- Concept guide · ISO 26262-2 §6 · 12 chapters # Safety Case Development Build a structured safety argument - claims, evidence, and reasoning in GSN - that compiles your ISO 26262 work products into an assessor-ready case. 12 Chapters 19 Work products mapped 8 Use-case archetypes 1 Worked example Included in Expert [Start learning](https://iso26262.academy/register?plan=free&from=%2Fconcepts%2Fsafety-case&utm_source=website&utm_medium=cta&utm_campaign=features_concepts) See the chapters Inside the course 1. 01 **Safety Case Foundation** 2. 02 **Argument Structure & GSN** 3. 03 **Concept Phase Evidence** 4. 04 **Design Phase Evidence** 5. 05 **HW/SW Implementation Evidence** The short version ## Quick answers What is a safety case in ISO 26262? A safety case is the reasoned explanation, backed by evidence from the work products of the project itself, of why the item can be considered functionally safe. ISO 26262-2 requires it to be developed progressively: it compiles the work products generated across the safety lifecycle and links them through an explicit argument to the claim that the safety goals are satisfied. A safety case therefore has three ingredients - claims about safety, arguments that explain the reasoning, and evidence drawn from work products such as the HARA, the safety concepts, safety analyses, and test results. It is a required work product for items developed to ISO 26262 and a central input to the functional safety assessment. What is Goal Structuring Notation (GSN)? GSN is a graphical notation for safety arguments, popularized by Tim Kelly's work on safety case management. It expresses an argument as a tree of goals (claims), strategies (the reasoning that decomposes a goal), and solutions (the evidence that discharges a leaf goal), annotated with context, assumptions, and justifications. GSN makes the reasoning between a top claim like "the item is acceptably safe" and individual work products explicit and reviewable, and its modular extensions let large programs split the case into maintainable modules. Keep going, free - [Demo exam · no account Test yourself with 7 exam-style questions](https://iso26262.academy/demo-exam) Why this course · ISO 26262, Part 2, Clause 6 ## Why it pays for itself ### An argument, not a binder Learn to turn hundreds of work products into a claims-argument-evidence structure an assessor can actually follow - so the case demonstrates safety instead of merely archiving documents. ### Evidence mapped phase by phase Dedicated evidence chapters walk Parts 2 through 9 - concept, design, implementation, verification, validation, production, management, and supporting processes - so you know which work product discharges which claim before the assessment asks. ### Fits your program shape Eight use-case archetypes - from fail-operational ASIL D items to SEooC suppliers, OEM integrators, OTA updates, and proven-in-use arguments - show how the same method adapts to the project you actually have. After the course ## What you’ll be able to do ### Structure a GSN argument Build goal-strategy-solution trees with proper context, assumptions, and justifications instead of loose document references. ### Map work products to claims Know which of the 19 mapped ISO 26262 work products supports which claim, phase by phase from concept to operation. ### Grow the case incrementally Start the safety case in the concept phase and compile it progressively, keeping it valid through design change and field feedback. ### Choose the right case shape Pick a modular structure that fits your program archetype - SEooC supplier, OEM integrator, variant, OTA update, or proven-in-use. ### Face assessment with confidence Anticipate assessor questions, avoid the classic pitfalls, and present an argument a reviewer can actually follow. The curriculum · 12 chapters ## Chapter by chapter 1. 01 **Safety Case Foundation** Understand what a safety case is per ISO 26262-2, why claims need explicit arguments and evidence, and the six-step method for building a goal-structured case from scratch. - Claims, argument, evidence - Part 2 requirement - Six-step method 2. 02 **Argument Structure & GSN** Master Goal Structuring Notation - goals, strategies, solutions, context, assumptions, and justifications - and assemble them into modular argument trees you can review and maintain. - GSN elements - Kelly notation - Modular arguments 3. 03 **Concept Phase Evidence** Anchor the argument in Part 3 evidence: item definition, HARA, safety goals, and the functional safety concept, illustrated with a worked steer-by-wire safety goal set. - HARA & safety goals - Steer-by-wire example - Part 3 evidence 4. 04 **Design Phase Evidence** Trace Part 4 evidence into the case: the technical safety concept, system architecture, and technical safety requirements that connect safety goals to an implementable design. - Technical safety concept - System architecture 5. 05 **HW/SW Implementation Evidence** Collect Part 5 and Part 6 implementation evidence - hardware architectural metrics, safety analyses, and software design and verification records - and place each artifact under the right claim. - Hardware metrics - Software evidence - Parts 5 & 6 6. 06 **Verification Evidence** Show that integration and testing actually discharge your claims: verification planning, integration test results, and the traceability that ties results back to safety requirements. - Integration testing - Traceability 7. 07 **Safety Validation Evidence** Close the loop at vehicle level with Part 4 safety validation: demonstrating that the safety goals and the functional safety concept are adequate and actually achieved. - Vehicle-level validation - Safety goal adequacy 8. 08 **Production & Operation** Extend the case beyond start of production with Part 7 evidence: production control, field monitoring, service instructions, and how operation-phase data feeds the living safety case. - Part 7 evidence - Field monitoring - Living case 9. 09 **Management of Functional Safety** Argue from Part 2 management evidence - safety plan, confirmation measures, safety culture, and competence - that the case was produced by a process worth trusting. - Safety plan - Confirmation measures - Safety culture 10. 10 **Supporting Processes** Bring Part 8 and Part 9 into the argument: configuration and change management, qualification of tools and components, and the ASIL-oriented analyses that underpin the case. - Parts 8 & 9 - Config & change mgmt 11. 11 **Pitfalls & Assessment Tips** Learn the failure patterns assessors see repeatedly - document dumps without argument, orphan evidence, stale cases - and how to prepare the case for the functional safety assessment. - Common pitfalls - Assessor expectations 12. 12 **Use Cases & Personas** Adapt the case to your program shape with eight archetypes - from new ASIL D fail-operational items to SEooC suppliers, OTA updates, and proven-in-use arguments - plus persona responsibilities. - 8 archetypes - SEooC & OEM views - OTA & proven-in-use Worked example ## Steer-by-wire: from HARA to argument thread Follow a steer-by-wire item from HARA-derived safety goals into the concept-phase evidence of the case, then see how three reference program archetypes shape a complete safety case. - Five safety goals from the steer-by-wire HARA, each with ASIL, fault tolerant time interval, and safe state - ASIL D goals such as preventing unintended self-steering, carrying a 250 ms FTTI - Safe states ranging from mechanical fall-back to rear-steer lockout with driver warning - Three reference program archetypes, including an ASIL B corner radar SEooC with SPFM and LFM residual targets Steer-by-wire safety goals SG1: Prevent unintended self-steering of the road wheels - ASIL D, FTTI 250 ms, mechanical fall-back safe state Unlock in course Built for ## Who this guide is for - Safety managers compiling a safety case for an upcoming functional safety assessment - Engineers who own work products and need to know where their evidence lands in the case - SEooC suppliers and OEM integrators negotiating who argues what across the DIA - Anyone adopting Goal Structuring Notation for the first time on an ISO 26262 program ## Frequently Asked Questions Common questions about Safety Case Development Evidence follows the lifecycle. From the concept phase: item definition, HARA, safety goals, and the functional safety concept. From system development: the technical safety concept and architecture. From hardware and software development: architectural metrics, safety analyses, and design and unit verification results. Then integration and test results, vehicle-level safety validation, production and operation evidence, and the management and supporting-process records - safety plan, confirmation measures, configuration management - that show the case was produced under a controlled process. At the start of the concept phase, not at the end of development. ISO 26262 describes the safety case as a progressive compilation: the argument skeleton can exist as soon as safety goals do, and each phase then adds its evidence to already-defined claims. Starting early exposes evidence gaps while they are still cheap to fix, keeps the argument aligned with design changes through change impact analysis, and fits naturally with incremental development approaches where the case grows sprint by sprint. The guide has 12 chapters: foundations and the six-step method, a full GSN chapter, seven evidence chapters spanning concept through production and supporting processes, management of functional safety, pitfalls and assessment tips, and a use-cases chapter with eight program archetypes. It maps 19 ISO 26262 work products to the claims they support and anchors the concept phase in a worked steer-by-wire safety goal set. A free account starts you off, and the Pro and Expert plans unlock more of the concept library. ## Start the course today A free account unlocks one full concept guide, 3 work product templates, 1 guided process, the Markov simulator, and 5 practice exams per month. The Pro and Expert plans unlock more of the 78-guide library. No credit card required. [Start learning](https://iso26262.academy/register?plan=free&from=%2Fconcepts%2Fsafety-case&utm_source=website&utm_medium=cta&utm_campaign=features_concepts) [View Pricing Plans](https://iso26262.academy/pricing)