Book excerpt: Written by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) consultant designated engineering representative (DER) and an electronics hardware design engineer who together taught the DO-254 class at the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics, Inc. (RTCA) in Washington, District of Columbia, USA, Airborne Electronic Hardware Design Assurance: A Practitioner's Guide to RTCA/DO-254 is a testimony to the lessons learned and wisdom gained from many years of first-hand experience in the design, verification, and approval of airborne electronic hardware. This practical guide to the use of RTCA/DO-254 in the development of airborne electronic hardware for safety critical airborne applications: Describes how to optimize engineering processes and practices to harmonize with DO-254 Addresses the single most problematic aspect of engineering and compliance to DO-254—poorly written requirements Includes a tutorial on how to write requirements that will minimize the cost and effort of electronic design and verification Discusses the common pitfalls encountered by practitioners of DO-254, along with how those pitfalls occur and what can be done about them Settles the ongoing debate and misconceptions about the true definition of a derived requirement Promotes embracing DO-254 as the best means to achieve compliance to it, as well as the best path to high-quality electronic hardware Airborne Electronic Hardware Design Assurance: A Practitioner's Guide to RTCA/DO-254 offers real-world insight into RTCA/DO-254 and how its objectives can be satisfied. It provides engineers with valuable information that can be applied to any project to make compliance to DO-254 as easy and problem-free as possible.