Aldec’s DO‑254 (ED-80) Practitioner’s Course
20-22 October 2026

3-Day Instructor Led In-Person Training

 

Build the skills and confidence to deliver fully compliant airborne electronic hardware.

 

 

The DO-254 (ED-80) Practitioner’s Course is an intensive, three day, instructor led programme designed for engineering teams developing airborne electronic hardware.

It provides a clear, practical understanding of the DO-254 specification, its objectives, and the complete hardware lifecycle; from requirements and design through verification, configuration management, and certification.

 

 

Whether you’re new to DO-254 or looking to strengthen your organisation’s design assurance processes, this course delivers the knowledge and methods needed to achieve compliance efficiently and avoid costly rework during audits.

 

 

What you will learn:

  • A complete understanding of DO-254 and its expectations
  • Gain clarity on what DO-254 is  (and what it is not) including design assurance levels, regulatory background, lifecycle data, and the core activities required for compliance. Designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of DO-254 specification, objectives and requirements
  • How to manage hardware lifecycle data effectively
  • Learn how lifecycle data is created, structured, and maintained, including design standards, configuration indices, validation and verification data, process data, and the Hardware Accomplishment Summary
  • Process Assurance and Configuration Management
  • Understand the role of process assurance, configuration management, and how to prepare for and navigate Stage of Involvement (SOI) audits
  • Engineering best practices for design and verification
  • Explore proven design and verification methods that enhance design assurance and reduce certification risk. Topics include design process considerations, verification approaches, independence, elemental analysis, and additional design assurance methods
  • Tool assisted traceability and in target testing
  • See how modern tools support traceability management and FPGA level in target testing to streamline DO-254 compliance and improve verification efficiency

 

Course Structure:

The course is delivered over three consecutive days, combining presentations, examples, and practical guidance:

  • Day 1: Regulatory background, design assurance levels, lifecycle data, DO-254 fundamentals, and compliance expectations
  • Day 2: Lifecycle data (continued), process assurance, configuration management, SOI audits, and requirements development
  • Day 3: Design and verification best practices, traceability management, in target testing, and practical methods for achieving design assurance

 

Who Should Attend:

This course is ideal for professionals involved in the development, verification, and certification of airborne electronic hardware, including:

  • Hardware Design Engineers
  • Verification Engineers
  • Quality Assurance Engineers and Managers
  • Project and Program Managers
  • Anyone responsible for DO-254 compliance, lifecycle data, requirements, or certification activities will benefit from the practical, real world methods taught throughout the course

 

Why Attend?

  • Gain a deep, actionable understanding of DO-254
  • Learn efficient, well proven methods to meet certification objectives
  • Reduce programme risk through better lifecycle data, verification, and process assurance
  • Improve team capability and confidence when working on safety critical hardware
  • Prepare for SOI audits with clarity and structure

Meet The Trainer

Matt West - DO-254 Specialist Matt West – DO-254 Specialist 

 

Matt West is an electronic hardware design engineer and certification manager at a major aerospace company. His expertise includes DO-254 compliance and certification, FPGA design and verification, requirements development, engineering training, and the development of electronic hardware processes and standards.
Throughout his career, Matt has contributed to the design, verification, and certification of numerous Level A flight control systems. He has also worked for more than a decade alongside Roy Vandermolen, a renowned DO-254 instructor and co-author of the CRC Press book Airborne Electronic Hardware Design Assurance: A Practitioner’s Guide to RTCA/DO-254.
Matt is an active member of RTCA Special Committee SC-243 / EUROCAE Working Group WG-128, the industry committee responsible for revising and updating the DO-254 standard for airborne electronic hardware.
Matt graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) and started FPGA design in 1999. He has worked with FPGAs in aircraft, robotics, and high-speed data applications, and was an FAE for a programmable logic semiconductor company.

Use this form to download the datasheet, and to request further information such as pricing and availability.

 

Please note, by submitting this form you are not reserving a place on the course. In order to book a place, you will need to speak with a member of our training team.

Training Terms and Conditions.

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