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  • © 2018

SafeScrum® – Agile Development of Safety-Critical Software

  • Proposes the SafeScrum® methodology for agile development of safety-critical software
  • Connects agile software development to the requirements of the standard IEC 61508 for “Functional Safety of Electrical/Electronic/Programmable Electronic Safety-related Systems”
  • Written for practitioners who want to combine the flexibility of agile software development with cost-effective programming of standard hardware devices

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Table of contents (13 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiii
  2. Why and How You Should Read This Book

    • Geir Kjetil Hanssen, Tor Stålhane, Thor Myklebust
    Pages 1-10
  3. What Is Agile Software Development: A Short Introduction

    • Geir Kjetil Hanssen, Tor Stålhane, Thor Myklebust
    Pages 11-15
  4. What Is Safety-Critical Software?

    • Geir Kjetil Hanssen, Tor Stålhane, Thor Myklebust
    Pages 17-29
  5. Placing Agile in a Safety Context

    • Geir Kjetil Hanssen, Tor Stålhane, Thor Myklebust
    Pages 31-64
  6. Standards and Certification

    • Geir Kjetil Hanssen, Tor Stålhane, Thor Myklebust
    Pages 65-74
  7. The SafeScrum® Process

    • Geir Kjetil Hanssen, Tor Stålhane, Thor Myklebust
    Pages 75-95
  8. The SafeScrum® Process: Activities

    • Geir Kjetil Hanssen, Tor Stålhane, Thor Myklebust
    Pages 97-107
  9. SafeScrum® Additional Elements

    • Geir Kjetil Hanssen, Tor Stålhane, Thor Myklebust
    Pages 109-134
  10. Documentation and Proof-of-Compliance

    • Geir Kjetil Hanssen, Tor Stålhane, Thor Myklebust
    Pages 135-144
  11. Tools

    • Geir Kjetil Hanssen, Tor Stålhane, Thor Myklebust
    Pages 145-151
  12. Adapting SafeScrum®

    • Geir Kjetil Hanssen, Tor Stålhane, Thor Myklebust
    Pages 153-165
  13. A Summary of Research

    • Geir Kjetil Hanssen, Tor Stålhane, Thor Myklebust
    Pages 167-185
  14. SafeScrum® in Action: The Real Thing

    • Geir Kjetil Hanssen, Tor Stålhane, Thor Myklebust
    Pages 187-194
  15. Back Matter

    Pages 195-233

About this book

This book addresses the development of safety-critical software and to this end proposes the SafeScrum® methodology. SafeScrum® was inspired by the agile method Scrum, which is extensively used in many areas of the software industry. Scrum is, however, not intended or designed for use with safety-critical systems; hence the authors propose guidelines and additions to make it both practically useful and compliant with the additional requirements found in safety standards.

The book provides an overview of agile software development and how it can be linked to safety and relevant safety standards. SafeScrum® is described in detail as a useful approach for reaping the benefits of agile methods, and is intended as a set of ideas and a basis for adaptation in industry projects. The book covers roles, processes and practices, and documentation. It also includes tips on how standard software process tools can be employed. Lastly, some insights into relevant research in this new and emerging field are provided, and selected real-world examples are presented.

The ideas and descriptions in this book are based on collaboration with the industry, in the form of discussions with assessment organizations, general discussions within the research fields of safety and software, and last but not least, the authors’ own experiences and ideas. It was mainly written for practitioners in industry who know a great deal about how to produce safety-critical software but less about agile development in general and Scrum in particular.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Software Engineering, Safety and Security, SINTEF Digital, Trondheim, Norway

    Geir Kjetil Hanssen, Thor Myklebust

  • NTNU, Trondheim, Norway

    Tor Stålhane

About the authors

Geir Kjetil Hanssen is a senior research scientist at SINTEF Digital in Norway, where he has focused on the use and effects of agile methods for more than 15 years. He holds a PhD in software engineering and is currently developing new research initiatives on agile development of safety-critical software, including compliance management and DevOps models. He was the project leader of the research project leading to SafeScrum® and is one of its co-founders.


Tor Stålhane is professor emeritus at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. He holds a PhD in statistics and is currently doing research in software engineering and system safety analysis. He is one of the founders of SafeScrum®.


Thor Myklebust is a senior safety assessor, business developer and researcher at SINTEF Digital in Norway, where he is involved in mainly international but also national development and research projects. He has participated in several international committees since 1988, been a member of safety IEC 65, the IEC 61508 international committee, railway CENELEC/TC 9 and NB-rail (notified bodies) since 2007. In addition he was vice chair of NB-Rail in 2014 and chairman of NB-Rail in 2015. He is also one of the founders of SafeScrum®.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: SafeScrum® – Agile Development of Safety-Critical Software

  • Authors: Geir Kjetil Hanssen, Tor Stålhane, Thor Myklebust

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99334-8

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Computer Science, Computer Science (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-99333-1Published: 29 December 2018

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-99334-8Published: 23 November 2018

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIII, 233

  • Number of Illustrations: 84 b/w illustrations, 3 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Software Engineering, Software Management, Management of Computing and Information Systems

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access