System Design and Development

Question 1

Five (5) key agencies in systems design:

Answer 1

• Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE):
  ARP 4754 [1]
  ARP 4761 [2]
• Federal Aviation Authority (FAA):
  AC 25.1309-1A [3]
• Joint Airworthiness Authority (JAA):
  AMJ 25.1309 [4]
• Air Transport Association (ATA):
  ATA-100 [5]
• Radio Technical Committee Association (RTCA):
  DO-178b [6]
  DO-254 [7]

Question 2

It is a set of design processes.

Answer 2

ARP 4754

Question 3

It represents a set of tools and techniques.

Answer 3

ARP 4761

Question 4

It offers advice for the design and certification of software.

Answer 4

DO-178B Overview - Design Assurance for Airborne Software

Question 5

It offers guidance for hardware design and development.

Answer 5

DO-254 Overview – Design Assurance Guidance for Airborne Electronic Hardware

Question 6

It is carried out at both aircraft and system levels; one flows down from the other.

Answer 6

Functional Hazard Analysis (FHA)

Question 7

It identifies system failures and identifies the effects of these failures.

Answer 7

Functional Hazard Analysis (FHA)

Question 8

The FHA identifies the data in first two columns of the table: the _ and the _.

Answer 8

failure condition classification; development assurance level

Question 9

It examines the failure conditions established by the FHA(s) and demonstrates how the system design will meet the specified requirements.

Answer 9

Preliminary System Safety Analysis (PSSA)

Question 10

It is part of an iterative process which scrutinizes the system design and assists the system designers in ascribing and meeting risk budgets across one or a number of systems.

Answer 10

Preliminary System Safety Analysis (PSSA)

Question 11

Increasingly, given the high degree of integration and interrelationship between major aircraft systems, this is likely to be a multi-system, multi-disciplinary exercise coordinating the input of many systems specialists.

Answer 11

Preliminary System Safety Analysis (PSSA)

Question 12

It is a systematic and comprehensive evaluation of the system design using similar techniques to those employed during the PSSA activities.

Answer 12

System Safety Analysis (SSA)

Question 13

It is intended to verify that the proposed design does in fact meet the specified requirements as identified during the FHA and PSSA analyses conducted previously.

Answer 13

System Safety Analysis (SSA)

Question 14

It occurs at the point in the design cycle where the system implementation is concluded or finalized and prior to system certification.

Answer 14

System Safety Analysis (SSA)

Question 15

It begins concurrently with the system FHA and is interactive with this activity and subsequent PSSA and SSA analyses.

Answer 15

Common Cause Analysis (CCA)

Question 16

Its purpose is to identify common cause or common mode failures in the proposed design and assist in directing the designers towards strategies which will obviate the possibility of such failures.

Answer 16

Common Cause Analysis (CCA)

Question 17

It is one of the tools described in SAE document ARP 4761.

Answer 17

Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)

Question 18

This analysis technique uses probability to assess whether a particular system configuration or architecture will meet the mandated requirements.

Answer 18

Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)

Question 19

Component of electrical power generation systems that governs voltage regulation and system protection.

Answer 19

Generator Control Unit (GCU)

Question 20

The seven (7) major phases of the product life cycle:

Answer 20

• Concept Phase
• Definition Phase
• Design Phase
• Build Phase
• Test Phase
• Operate Phase
• Refurbish or Retire

Question 21

It is the set of actions associated with the upkeep of a type design and the associated approved data through life.

Answer 21

continued airworthiness

Question 22

Two (2) other terms for continued airworthiness.

Answer 22

• type airworthiness
• initial airworthiness

Question 23

This phase is about understanding the customer’s emerging needs and arriving at a conceptual model of a solution to address those needs.

Answer 23

Concept Phase

Question 24

This phase is focused on establishing confidence that the requirement can be met within acceptable commercial or technological risk.

Answer 24

Concept Phase

Question 25

The establishment of a baseline of mature technologies may be first solicited by means of a _.

Answer 25

Request for Information (RFI)

Question 26

A common feature used more frequently by platform integrators is to establish engineering joint concept teams to establish the major system requirements. These teams are sometimes called _.

Answer 26

Integrated Product Teams (IPTs)

Question 27

The IPTs may develop a cardinal points specification; perhaps even undertake a preliminary system or baseline design against which all vendors might bid. This results in the issue of a specification or a _.

Answer 27

Request for Proposal (RFP)

Question 28

equipment electrically equivalent to the final product but not physically representative

Answer 28

electrical models

Question 29

equipment which is physically representative but not cleared for flight

Answer 29

red label hardware

Question 30

equipment which is physically representative and is cleared for flight either by virtue of the flight-worthy testing carried out and/or the software load incorporated

Answer 30

black label hardware

Question 31

The aircraft and its components are subject to a rigorous test programme to verify its fitness for purpose. This phase – usually referred to as _, includes testing and integration of equipment, components, sub-assemblies, and eventually; the complete aircraft.

Answer 31

qualification

Question 32

_ of equipment and systems on the ground and flight trials verifies that the performance and the operation of the equipment is as specified.

Answer 32

Functional testing

Question 33

Conclusion of the test programme and the associated design, analysis and documentation process leads to _ of the aircraft or equipment.

Answer 33

certification

Question 34

During this phase, the customer is operating the aircraft on a routine basis.

Answer 34

Operate Phase

Question 35

In the operate phase, aircraft performance will be monitored by means of a _, so that any defects or faults that arise are analyzed by the manufacturer.

Answer 35

formal defect reporting process

Question 36

It may be determined by unacceptably high operating costs, unacceptable environmental considerations – noise, pollution etc. – or by predicted failure of mechanical or structural components determined by the supplier’s test rigs.

Answer 36

end of life

Question 37

It is the first top-level, multi disciplinary review of the perceived system requirements.

Answer 37

System Requirements Review (SRR)

Question 38

It is effectively a sanity check upon what the system is required to achieve; a top level overview of requirements and review against the original objectives.

Answer 38

System Requirements Review (SRR)

Question 39

Successful attainment of this milestone leads to a preliminary system design leading in turn to the parallel development of the hardware and software requirements analysis, albeit with significant coordination between the two.

Answer 39

System Requirements Review (SRR)

Question 40

The hardware _ immediately follows the preliminary design phase and will encompass a top-level review of the system hardware characteristics such that preliminary design may proceed with confidence.

Answer 40

System Design Review (SDR)

Question 41

Key hardware characteristics will be reviewed at this stage to ensure that there are no major mismatches between the system requirements and what the hardware is capable of supporting.

Answer 41

System Design Review (SDR)

Question 42

It is essentially a similar process to the hardware SDR but applying to the software when a better appreciation of the software requirements has become apparent and possibly embracing any limitations such as throughput, timing or memory which the adopted hardware solution may impose.

Answer 42

Software Specification Review (SSR)

Question 43

This process is the first detailed review of the initial design (both hardware and software) versus the derived requirements.

Answer 43

Preliminary Design Review (PDR)

Question 44

This is usually the last review before committing major design resource to the detailed design process.

Answer 44

Preliminary Design Review (PDR)

Question 45

This stage in the design process is the last before major commitment to providing the necessary programme resources and investment.

Answer 45

Preliminary Design Review (PDR)

Question 46

By the time of the _, major effort will have been committed to the programme design effort.

Answer 46

Critical Design Review (CDR)

Question 47

It offers the possibility of identifying final design flaws, or more likely, trading the risks of one implementation path versus another.

Answer 47

Critical Design Review (CDR)

Question 48

It represents the last opportunity to review and alter the direction of the design before very large commitments and final design decisions are taken.

Answer 48

Critical Design Review (CDR)

Question 49

Major changes in system design – both hardware and software – after the _ will be very costly in terms of cost and schedule loss, to the total detriment of the programme.

Answer 49

Critical Design Review (CDR)

Question 50

It determines how far a twin-engine plane can safely and legally fly from the nearest suitable airport for an emergency landing.

Answer 50

Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards (ETOPS)

Question 51

Twin-engine planes were originally restricted by the "_," meaning they had to fly within 60 minutes of an airport in case of an engine failure.

Answer 51

60 Minute Rule

Question 52

ETOPS certification is granted in increments (e.g., ETOPS 120, ETOPS 180, ETOPS 330), where the number represents the maximum number of _ a plane can be from a suitable airport while flying on a single engine.

Answer 52

minutes