Modified condition/decision coverage

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 192.249.47.195 (talk) at 16:51, 23 April 2010 (Definitions). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.


Modified Condition/Decision Coverage (MC/DC), is used in the standard DO-178B to ensure that Level A (Catastrophic) software is tested adequately.

It is a form of exhaustive testing, in that during testing all of the below must be true at least once:

  • Each decision tries every possible outcome
  • Each condition in a decision takes on every possible outcome
  • Each entry and exit point is invoked
  • Each condition in a decision is shown to independently affect the outcome of the decision

Independence of a condition is shown by proving that only one condition changes at a time.

The most critical (Level A) software, which is defined as that which could prevent continued safe flight and landing of the aircraft, must satisfy a level of coverage called Modified Condition/Decision Coverage (MC/DC).

Definitions

Condition
A condition is a leaf-level Boolean expression (it cannot be broken down into a simpler Boolean expression).