A framework for improving the development of safety-critical systems in the Global South

Safety-critical systems (SCS) are systems whose failure could cause injuries, deaths, or significant damage to property or environment. SCS examples include systems for automatic administration of drugs to patients or control of the temperature of premature newborn babies, and systems for controlling vehicles, aircraft, and nuclear reactors. The development of SCS should strive to avoid failure. However, previous studies have reported evidence of SCS developed without following best practices. To deploy sound SCS development methodologies, practitioners should first be able to recognize SCS. However, practitioners are not always aware of the SCS in their environment or the safety-criticality of the systems they develop. Researchers have reported on the existence, nature and development practices of SCS. However, such reporting mainly covers the developed world, lacking corresponding evidence from the developing world. We surveyed 57 software practitioners in Tanzania. Among others, we found that the SCS developed and reported in the developed world were also developed and available in Tanzania; different from previous studies, the SCS reported and developed in Tanzania are mostly in the health domain; and the best practices for developing SCS were generally unknown and therefore never practised by the surveyed practitioners. These findings imply the need to strengthen the awareness of and best practices for developing and certifying SCS in Tanzania and, by extension, the Global South.