Updated for 2011, this paper provides background information and also goes into detail on FPGA synthesis challenges and solutions in high assurance design, including DO-254 environments.

Indeed, DO-254 is just one of many new or emerging standards among the safety- and mission-critical (or high assurance) design domains. Military, automotive, space, medical, nuclear, transportation, and industrial segments all have similar standards and/or concerns. The key objective of each of these standards is to ensure that the device produced will perform its intended function (as specified by requirements) under all foreseeable conditions. No specific methodologies or tools are inherently certified, compliant or qualified for these types of programs. However, many companies that are concerned about design assurance are reevaluating their design methods and tools – many of which described in this whitepaper – play an important role in overall program compliance, while also affecting productivity, schedule, budget, and design quality.