The standards were a natural EVOLUTION for the NEED to reduce process risk and improve safety through a more formalized and quantifiable methodology. Additionally, and specifically for IEC 61508, as the application and USAGE of software has evolved and proliferated, there was an increased need to develop a standard to guide system / product designers and developers in what they NEEDED to do to ensure and “claim” that their systems / products were acceptably safe for their intended uses.

The standards were a natural evolution for the need to reduce process risk and improve safety through a more formalized and quantifiable methodology. Additionally, and specifically for IEC 61508, as the application and usage of software has evolved and proliferated, there was an increased need to develop a standard to guide system / product designers and developers in what they needed to do to ensure and “claim” that their systems / products were acceptably safe for their intended uses.