The following is a partial list of topics we will cover:
1) Computers and Risk – the role of computers in accidents, software myths, why software engineering is difficult.
2) Accidents Viewed Hierarchically – causality, a hierarchical approach to causality
3) The Role of Humans in Automated Systems
4) Accident Models and Human Error
5) Hazard Analysis Models and Techniques – fault tree, risk tree, and event tree analysis
6) Software Hazard and Requirements Analysis
7) Designing for Safety – hazard elimination, reduction, and control, damage reduction, design modification and maintenance
We will begin by studying a set of sobering, but highly instructive, technological disasters which illustrate the importance of taking a systems approach to safety.
Text - Safeware: System Safety and Computers by Nancy Leveson, Addison-Wesley although we may opt for the on-line, revised version available through Professor Leveson’s web site.
See the full story.