Software Lessons Learned The Hard Way

This paper introduces several requirements that have been created based on lessons learned at Ford Motor Company. This is not a collection of requirements already addressed by MISRA. These are requirements which address repeated or costly problems that have been observed at Ford Motor Company in their Electronic Body Modules. Real world examples of why they were needed will be highlighted as well as the principles used to create them and confirm compliance.

Electronic Body Modules at Ford Motor Company usually control Interior Lighting, Exterior Lighting, Chime, Wipers, Power Mirrors, Power Seats and other features related to passenger comfort. These modules typically use less than 32 K of ROM and are written in C. While some modules are connected to a vehicle network, others are stand-alone.