S-PLANE assists clients with architecture definitions for aircraft systems. This is part of the typical engagement with clients to apply S-PLANE’s X-KIT to clients’ needs. S-PLANE’s involvement serves to balance development risk, cost and time for clients, by providing key technical, project and safety assessment inputs, while simultaneously supporting and guiding the application of standards-based system engineering practices appropriate to the development. The result is a well-defined system architecture complete with planning documents, system requirements, system safety assessment data, conceptual design data and a project plan. 

System level developments are typically guided by Aerospace Recommended Practice (ARP) guidelines ARP-4752A and ARP-4761, describing certification considerations for highly integrated and complex aircraft systems and the associated safety assessment processes. Software developments are guided by RTCA DO-178C and its supporting supplements DO-330 through DO-333, while RTCA DO-254 is used as a guideline for S-PLANE’s hardware development processes and DO-160 is used for testing.

System engineering processes are tailored as per clients’ needs to suit a particular development, ranging from general good practice design processes through to certification-ready and fully certified systems and subsystems at various Design Assurance Levels (DALs). This flexibility allows clients to manage project timelines and budgets more accurately while still achieving strategic goals and a high level of safety and reliability in the developed artefacts.