Software System Safety

Last Updated: Spring 2025

1. Credits and contact hours: 3 credits, 3 contact hours
2. Textbook, title, author, and year: Engineering a Safer World, Nancy Leveson, 2016.
3. Other supplemental materials: Journal and conference papers as assigned.

Specific course information

1. Brief description of the content of the course: An introduction to the hazard analysis, safety requirements, design, and testing of software for safety-critical and high-dependability systems. Safety analysis techniques, fault identification and recovery, and certification issues. Emphasizes a case-based and systematic approach to software's role in safe systems.
2. Prerequisites or co-requisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor
3. Required, elective, or selected elective? Selected Elective

Specific goals for the course

• Students will be familiar with software safety engineering topics.
• Students to be in a position to perform safety analysis of software requirements and design.

Brief list of topics to be covered

• Safety requirements in software