Development assurance for software and airborne electronic hardware (AEH) has become the common methodology for certifying the complex and integrated systems and equipment used on aircraft. The processes in DO-178C/ED-12C  and DO-254/ED-80, as well as aspects of ARP-4754A, are the current industry standards and recommended practices that development teams and certifying authorities rely on to ensure the robust confidence that is necessary for the level of safety for aviation products. The level of rigor used is associated with risk level of the systems and equipment installed in the aircraft. 

While the safety outcome of these processes can meet the current safety needs of systems and equipment development for compliance with applicable airworthiness regulations, improvements to the approach are needed. Emerging technologies and novel techniques may use other standards or methodologies, which need to be evaluated prior to acceptance as an acceptable means for safety critical systems and equipment.

The Task Force "Abstraction Layer" (TFAL) was created in June 2019 to address these issues. This joint FAA and EASA Task Force also included industry representatives from software and AEH domains nominated by GAMA, ASD, AIA. The purpose of the TFAL was to identify ways to assess available standards or publicly available methodologies without compromising the high safety standards of aviation, through the definition of an "Abstraction Layer."

As a result of its work, the Task Force has delivered two reports:

• The first report contains a set of twenty criteria for the assessment of the candidate alternate standard, as well as a User Guide describing "how to use the Abstraction Layer." 
• An additional report addresses "how to consider the Abstraction Layer within the current regulatory framework of EASA and FAA" and provides a "framework for recognition of alternate standards assessed using the Abstraction Layer."