Goal structuring notation
Goal structuring notation (GSN) is a graphical argument used to document and present proof that safety goals have been achieved, in a clearer format than plain text.[1] The notation is a diagram that builds its safety case through logic-based maps.[2] Originally developed at the University of York during the 1990s, it gained popularity in 2012 and has been used to track safety assurances in industries such as traffic management and nuclear power.[3] By 2014, it had become the standard[citation needed] format for graphic documentation of safety cases and was being used in other contexts such as patent claims, debate strategy, and legal arguments.[4]
Criticism
Charles Haddon-Cave in his review of the Nimrod accident commented that the top goal of a GSN argument can drive a conclusion that is already assumed, such as that a platform is deemed acceptably safe. This could lead to the safety case becoming a "self-fulfilling prophesy", giving a "warm sense of over-confidence" rather than highlighting uncertainties, gaps in knowledge or areas where the mitigation argument was not straightforward.[5] This had already been recognised by Habli and Kelly, who warned that a GSN diagram was just a depiction, not the safety case itself, and likened it to Magritte's painting The Treachery of Images.[6] Haddon-Cave also criticised the practice of consultants to produce "outsize GSN charts" that could be yards long and became an end in themselves rather than an aid to structured thinking.
History
The goal structuring notation was first developed at the University of York during the ASAM-II (A Safety Argument Manager II) project in the early 1990s, to overcome perceived issues in expressing safety arguments using the Toulmin method. The notation was further developed and expanded by Tim Kelly, whose PhD thesis contributed systematic methods for constructing and maintaining GSN diagrams, and the concept of ′safety case patterns′ to promote re-use of argument fragments.[7] During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the GSN methodology was taught on the Safety Critical Systems Engineering course at York, and various extensions to the GSN methodology were proposed by Kelly and other members of the university's High Integrity Systems Engineering group.[8]
By 2007, goal structuring notation was sufficiently popular that a group of industry and academic users came together to standardise the notation and its surrounding methodology, resulting in publication of the GSN Community Standard in 2011. From 2014, maintenance of the GSN standard moved under the auspices of the SCSC's Assurance Case Working Group.[9] As at 2022, the standard has reached Version 3.[10]
See also
References
- ^ Ge, Xiaocheng; Rijo, Rui; Paige, Richard F.; Kelly, Tim P.; McDermid, John A. (2012). "Introducing Goal Structuring Notation to Explain Decisions in Clinical Practice". Procedia Technology. 5: 686–695. doi:10.1016/j.protcy.2012.09.076. ISSN 2212-0173.
- ^ Rich, K.J.N.; Blanchard, H.; McCloskey, J. (2007), The use of goal structuring notation as a method for ensuring that human factors is represented in a safety case, IEE, doi:10.1049/cp:20070467
- ^ Spriggs, John (2012). GSN - The Goal Structuring Notation. Springer London. doi:10.1007/978-1-4471-2312-5.
- ^ Cabot, Jordi (12 February 2014). "Goal Structuring Notation – a short introduction". Modeling Languages. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
- ^ Haddon-Cave QC, Charles (28 October 2009), The Nimrod Review, London: The Stationary Office
- ^ Habli, Ibrahim; Kelly, Tim (August 2007). Safety Case Depictions vs. Safety Cases – Would the Real Safety Case Please Stand Up? (PDF). 23rd International System Safety Conference.
- ^ Kelly, Timothy Patrick (September 1998). Arguing Safety – A Systematic Approach to Managing Safety Cases (PDF) (PhD thesis). University of York.
- ^ Hawkins, R.D.; Kelly, T.P. (July 2010). "A Systematic Approach for Developing Software Safety Arguments". Journal of System Safety. 46 (4): 25–33. ISSN 0743-8826.
- ^ The Assurance Case Working Group (Jan 2018). Goal Structuring Notation Community Standard Version 2.
- ^ The Assurance Case Working Group (May 2021). Goal Structuring Notation Community Standard Version 3. ISBN 979-8451294949.
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