DO-178C Data & Control Coupling (DCCCA) Online Training (SW-CERT-240)

Course overview

Data and control coupling analysis is among the most misunderstood DO-178C objectives. SW-CERT-240 provides a complete, practical method for identifying and verifying the couplings between components.

It pays particular attention to complex environments — Integrated Modular Avionics and multicore processors (MCP) — where coupling analysis is hardest and most scrutinized.

What you will learn

• What data coupling and control coupling actually require
• A repeatable method for performing DCCCA
• How to identify couplings between software components
• Approaches for complex IMA and multicore (MCP) environments
• Producing coupling coverage evidence reviewers will accept

Who should take this course

Experienced verification and integration engineers responsible for DCCCA on complex avionics software.

Recommended prerequisite: SW-CERT-200 — DO-178C Structural Coverage Objectives

Course outline

1. Definitions that matter — data coupling (data dependence between components) versus control coupling (one component influencing another’s execution).
2. Why DO-178C requires it — the data and control coupling objective and how it confirms integration was verified.
3. A repeatable DCCCA method — identifying couplings and measuring coupling coverage from requirements-based integration tests.
4. Complex environments — Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) and multicore processors (MCP), where coupling is hardest to bound.
5. Producing evidence — coupling coverage artifacts that withstand reviewer scrutiny.

Why data and control coupling is so often misunderstood

Data Coupling and Control Coupling Analysis (DCCCA) is one of the DO-178C objectives most frequently misread, and FAA scrutiny of it has grown sharply. Data coupling concerns the dependence between software components through shared data — variables, parameters and messages — while control coupling concerns the way one component influences the execution of another. The objective is to confirm that requirements-based integration testing actually exercised these inter-component couplings, not just the internals of each unit.

The analysis becomes hardest in exactly the architectures modern avionics favors: Integrated Modular Avionics, where many applications share a platform, and multicore processors, where interference channels complicate the picture. Teams often conflate coupling coverage with structural coverage, or assume unit testing covers it — both are mistakes that surface at audit. This course gives a concrete, repeatable method for identifying couplings, measuring coupling coverage, and producing evidence that holds up, including in IMA and multicore environments.

What you will be able to do afterward

After SW-CERT-240 you will be able to distinguish data and control coupling precisely, perform a repeatable DCCCA, handle IMA and multicore complications, and produce coupling coverage evidence that reviewers will accept.

How this course fits your certification path

SW-CERT-240 builds on SW-CERT-200 (Structural Coverage) and the verification approach in SW-CERT-120. Audit preparation is covered in SW-CERT-250 (Audits & SOI). For more, see our DO-178C explained guide. Prefer instructor-led? Explore our full DO-178C 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:

Reza Madjidi FAA DER Consultant

Provides FAA Designated Engineering Representative expertise on U.S. avionics certification.

Martin Beeby EASA CVE Authorized

Brings EASA Certification Verification Engineer authority on European avionics compliance.

Frequently asked questions