FACE Technical Standard Offers MOSA Lessons for Safety-Critical Software in Any Sector

Developing embedded application software is an expensive business, especially when the software is to be used in a critical application. Composable modularity can streamline development through the reuse of software modules, making it a highly desirable attribute in the architecture of embedded software.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has embraced this concept with the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA). This strategic standardization initiative highlights how interoperable modular components built by different companies across different programs or procurements can perform together. The Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE™) Consortium, a collaboration between government and industry entities, has developed the FACE technical standard to fulfil the requirements of a MOSA for military aviation software development. However, there is nothing about the principles of the FACE technical standard and MOSA that makes them applicable only to military systems. They therefore serve as a practical example for the application of open systems in other safety-critical sectors as well.