BOOK: Thinking in Java (Bruce Eckel)

Back to basics:
https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Java-4th-Bruce-Eckel/dp/0131872486

BOOK: The Agile Safety Case

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320518036_The_Agile_Safety_Case

https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319702643

Quoting:
"The safety case (SC) is one of the railway industry’s most important deliverables for creating confidence in their systems. This is the first book on how to write an SC, based on the standard EN 50129:2003. Experience has shown that preparing and understanding an SC is difficult and time consuming, and as such the book provides insights that enhance the training for writing an SC. The book discusses both "regular" safety cases and agile safety cases, which avoid too much documentation, improve communication between the stakeholders, allow quicker approval of the system, and which are important in the light of rapidly changing technology. In addition, it discusses the necessity of frequently updating software due to market requirements, changes in requirements and increased cyber-security threats. After a general introduction to SCs and agile thinking in chapter 1, chapter 2 describes the majority of the roles that are relevant when developing railway-signaling systems. Next, chapter 3 provides information related to the assessment of signaling systems, to certifications based on IEC 61508 and to the authorization of signaling systems. Chapter 4 then explains how an agile safety plan satisfying the requirements given in EN 50126-1:1999 can be developed, while chapter 5 provides a brief introduction to safety case patterns and notations. Lastly, chapter 6 combines all this and describes how an (agile) SC can be developed and what it should include. To ensure that infrastructure managers, suppliers, consultants and others can take full advantage of the agile mind-set, the book includes concrete examples and presents relevant agile practices. Although the scope of the book is limited to signaling systems, the basic foundations for (agile) SCs are clearly described so that they can also be applied in other cases.

(PDF) The Agile Safety Case. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320518036_The_Agile_Safety_Case [accessed Aug 24 2018]."

BOOK: Agile and safety-critical?

https://www.amazon.com/Agile-Methods-Safety-Critical-Systems-Examples/dp/1717543146
Quoting:
"Product description

This book, packed with real-world insights and direct experiences, is for managers who want the benefits of Agile but also must address regulatory compliance, integration of software with other disciplines, and product safety. In it, we combine our understanding of Agile development, hardware/software integration, and regulatory requirements. We know that Agile is simple but not easy; leadership is crucial to make this change spread. We aim to show how you can navigate the transition."

Documentation: Safety-critical

An article on safety-critical, with a contribution of Nuno Silva (who works for CRITICAL):

https://increment.com/documentation/the-complex-world-of-life-saving-safety-critical-software/

Quoting:
"Most of the programs you use every day, from word processors to smartphone apps, need oversight to ensure their usability and security, no matter how much planning and testing went into their production. For the narrow slice of systems and software that lives depend on, dubbed “safety-critical,” the requisite oversight comes alongside strict government, industry, and trade organization-mandated standards that prove the software is safe to use in high-stakes applications.

Today, software deemed safety-critical controls very complex hardware, from medical devices and cars to aircraft and nuclear reactors. Safety-critical software has unique requirements in each field, some of which are more regulated than others, but in general, regulatory agencies require extensive documentation to help ensure that the software is certifiably safe. This can equate to many times more documentation—including fastidious risk management documentation—than a comparably sized consumer software might need, given the extensive planning and testing that safety-critical software must undergo to meet certification standards. Through this documentation, teams must prove that their software is safe to use and has a very, very low chance of endangering human life."
(...)
"Safety-critical regulators have been slow to welcome emerging technologies and methodologies that are prevalent in the wider tech industry, like agile software development. Myklebust and his colleague Tor Stålhane wrote a book, The Agile Safety Case, that lays out how teams using agile development can meet compliance requirements and satisfy safety-critical standards assessors. Their plan limits the number of documents that need to be revised when updating software, which would speed up the process considerably. In the railway industry, where Myklebust primarily operates, it might take six months from writing the last line of code on a project to when it’s implemented on a track or signaling system; he reckons it should only take a week or so."