Course overview
HW-CERT-110 takes you from planning into hardware development. It explains how to set up a Hardware Design Plan and satisfy the DO-254 development objectives in practice.
It emphasizes requirement attributes and a clearly defined hardware lifecycle, so the development data is verifiable and traceable from the start.
What you will learn
- How to set up a compliant Hardware Design Plan (HDP)
- The DO-254 hardware development process objectives
- Requirement attributes for airborne electronic hardware
- Defining and tailoring the hardware lifecycle
- Establishing traceability across hardware development data
Who should take this course
Hardware engineers and leads responsible for DO-254 development planning and execution.
Recommended prerequisite: HW-CERT-101 — DO-254 Overview & PHAC Explanation
Course outline
- From PHAC to HDP — how the certification plan flows into a concrete Hardware Design Plan.
- The hardware design lifecycle — requirements capture, conceptual design, detailed design, implementation and production transition.
- Requirement attributes — making each requirement uniquely identified, unambiguous, verifiable and traceable, and handling derived requirements.
- Traceability — establishing bidirectional links from requirements through design to verification.
- Tailoring the lifecycle — adapting the process to the device complexity and design assurance level.
Why development planning decides verification cost
The quality of your DO-254 development data is what determines how expensive verification becomes. Requirements that are atomic, unambiguous, uniquely identified and verifiable can each be confirmed with a bounded set of tests or analyses. Requirements that are vague or compound force engineers to invent interpretation late in the program, which inflates the verification effort and invites reviewer findings.
Derived requirements deserve special attention. Because they are not traceable to a parent requirement, DO-254 expects them to be justified and fed back to the system safety process so their effect on safety can be assessed. A Hardware Design Plan that defines requirement attributes, derived-requirement handling and end-to-end traceability up front is what makes a hardware program verifiable and auditable rather than a scramble at the end.
Common pitfalls this course helps you avoid
Most DO-254 development findings trace back to a handful of recurring mistakes: requirements that bundle several testable statements into one, derived requirements that are never justified or fed back to the safety process, traceability that is added retroactively instead of maintained as the design evolves, and a hardware lifecycle that is copied from a template without being tailored to the actual device. HW-CERT-110 shows how a well-structured Hardware Design Plan heads each of these off before they become rework.
What you will be able to do afterward
After HW-CERT-110 you will be able to stand up a compliant Hardware Design Plan, define a hardware lifecycle appropriate to your device, write requirements with the attributes DO-254 expects, and maintain the traceability that verification and review will depend on.
How this course fits your certification path
HW-CERT-110 builds on HW-CERT-101 (Overview & PHAC) and leads directly into HW-CERT-120 (Hardware Verification Plan), where the development data you produce here is verified. For the wider context, see our DO-254 explained guide. Prefer instructor-led? Explore our full DO-254 training courses.
How on-demand training works
Every ConsuNova module is delivered online and self-paced, so you can learn on your own schedule. Each purchase includes 30-day access with unlimited views and downloads for one user, and a certificate of completion is issued automatically when you finish the module.
Your instructors
This module is authored and delivered by ConsuNova’s senior certification authorities, giving you both FAA and EASA perspectives on compliance:
Provides FAA Designated Engineering Representative expertise on U.S. avionics certification.
Brings EASA Certification Verification Engineer authority on European avionics compliance.
Frequently asked questions
What standard does HW-CERT-110 cover?
HW-CERT-110 focuses on DO-254. Set up a compliant Hardware Design Plan (HDP) and meet DO-254 development objectives, with emphasis on requirement attributes and hardware lifecycle definition.
How long is the HW-CERT-110 course and how is it delivered?
HW-CERT-110 is a self-paced, on-demand online module of about 60 minutes (47 slides). Purchase includes 30-day access with unlimited views and downloads for one user.
What level is HW-CERT-110 and are there prerequisites?
HW-CERT-110 is an moderate-level course. Recommended prerequisites: HW-CERT-101.