DO-254 Hardware Certification Training & Consultancy
At Heraklet, we offer expert-level consultancy and training services on DO-254 – Design Assurance Guidance for Airborne Electronic Hardware, tailored for the aerospace and defense industries. Our programs are aligned with EASA and FAA certification requirements and support all DAL levels (A to D).
Our trainings are delivered by engineers with backgrounds at Airbus and TAI, specialized in DO-254, certification, and FPGA modeling.
Hands-on Process Guidance
Step-by-step guidance through every DO-254 milestone, from planning to final certification.
Onsite & Remote Delivery
Training and consultancy can be delivered at your facility or online — flexible formats for your organization’s needs.
Hardware Certification Focus
We specialize in airborne electronic hardware systems, ensuring safety, traceability, and compliance.
DO-254 Hardware Certification Services
We provide end-to-end support for the preparation and delivery of all hardware-related documentation in compliance with the DO-254 standard, tailored to the applicable Design Assurance Level (DAL). Our services cover the complete hardware life cycle and include the following documents:
- PHAC – Plan for Hardware Aspects of Certification
- HRD – Hardware Requirements Document
- HDD – Hardware Design Document
- HTP – Hardware Test Plan
- HTR – Hardware Test Report
- HVP – Hardware Verification Plan
- HVR – Hardware Verification Results
- HCMP – Hardware Configuration Management Plan
- HPMP – Hardware Process Management Plan
- HAR – Hardware Accomplishment Summary Report
- Traceability Matrix – Requirement-to-Design-to-Test Mapping
- Design Review Reports – Peer reviews and critical design reviews (CDRs)
- Problem Reports and Change Records – As part of the configuration & quality records
All documentation is developed in accordance with DO-254 objectives and tailored to the rigor required by the assigned DAL (A through D). We also ensure traceability, consistency, and audit-readiness to support FAA/EASA certification processes.
DO-254 Hardware Certification Training
This DO-254 training provides a comprehensive overview of airborne electronic hardware development and certification. It covers the full lifecycle from planning, requirements, design, and verification to documentation, tailored to Design Assurance Levels (DAL A–D). Participants will gain practical knowledge on DO-254 compliance, traceability, and certification-ready documentation.
Participants can attend the training at Heraklet office at Hamburg, or we can deliver the training on-site at the customer’s facility upon request.
Day 1
Requirements in DO-254
09:00 – 09:30 | Welcome & Introduction
- Overview of DO-254 and its role in airborne hardware certification
- Objectives of the course
- Scope of DO-254: what it covers and what it doesn’t
- Differences between DO-254 and DO-178 (brief comparison)
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09:30 – 11:00 | Requirement Definition Rules
- Definition of hardware requirements in DO-254
- Types of requirements: High-Level vs Low-Level
- Characteristics of good requirements (Clear, Testable, Unambiguous, Traceable)
- Avoiding implementation details in early requirements
- Requirement completeness and correctness
- Handling derived requirements
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11:00 – 11:15 | Coffee Break
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11:15 – 12:30 | Requirement Management Principles
- Configuration and change control of requirements
- Requirement versioning and baselining
- Requirement traceability:
- From system-level requirements to hardware
- Bi-directional traceability
- Tools commonly used for requirement management (e.g., DOORS, Polarion, Jama)
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12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch Break
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13:30 – 15:00 | Requirement Capture Techniques
- Sources of requirements (System requirements, Safety Assessment, Architecture)
- Capturing requirements from stakeholders and specifications
- Requirement capture workflow
- Managing ambiguous or incomplete requirements
- Review and validation of captured requirements
- Common pitfalls in requirement capture
Day 2
Design, Verification & Certification Process
⸻
09:00 – 09:30 | Recap of Day 1 & Overview of Day 2
- Summary of Day 1 topics
- Goals and learning objectives for Day 2
- Key focus: linking requirements to design, verification, and documentation
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09:30 – 11:00 | Design Assurance Levels (DAL) & Hardware Development Flow
- Introduction to DAL (A to E)
- How DAL is determined (based on safety assessment)
- Impact of DAL on the level of rigor in the process
- Overview of the DO-254 hardware lifecycle:
- Planning
- Requirements
- Design
- Implementation
- Verification
- Certification
11:00 – 11:15 | Coffee Break
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11:15 – 12:30 | Hardware Verification Process
- Requirement-based verification principles
- Verification planning for DAL A–D
- Types of verification:
- Simulation
- Code review
- Lab testing
- Elemental analysis
- HVP (Verification Plan) and HVR (Verification Results) creation
- Best practices for test traceability
- Independence in verification (DAL A-B)
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12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch Break
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13:30 – 14:30 | Traceability & Requirements Coverage
- Traceability matrix: HLR → LLR → Design → Test
- Bi-directional traceability examples
- Tools used for traceability (e.g., DOORS, Excel, Polarion)
- Ensuring complete coverage and validation
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14:30 – 15:30 | Document Preparation & Certification Planning
- PHAC – what it is, and how to structure it
- How to write:
- HRD (Hardware Requirements Document)
- HDD (Hardware Design Document)
- HTP / HTR (Test Plans and Reports)
- HCMP (Configuration Management Plan)
- HPMP (Process Assurance Plan)
- Document templates and real-world examples
- FAA / EASA expectations and audit preparation
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15:30 – 15:45 | Coffee Break
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15:45 – 16:45 | Hands-On: Mini Certification Exercise
- Case study: example hardware system
- Define requirements
- Map traceability
- Prepare a sample PHAC & HRD section
- Group presentations & feedback
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16:45 – 17:15 | Common Mistakes & Tips
- Documentation pitfalls
- Misinterpreting DAL requirements
- Managing derived requirements and tool limitations
- Lessons learned from certification audits
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17:15 – 17:30 | Wrap-Up & Certificates
- Final Q&A
- Feedback collection
- Distribution of certificates (if applicable)
