Opening
ISO 26262 was written for systems that evolved through staged engineering milestones.
Modern autonomous systems no longer behave that way.
Core Thesis
The standards are not obsolete. The execution model is.
The Old Model
- concept phase
- architecture freeze
- implementation
- verification
- release
The New Reality
- OTA updates
- fleet-learned changes
- simulation-driven iteration
- continuously evolving software
- supplier churn
- retrained ML components
The Problem
Static milestone assurance drifts from deployed reality.
The Future
Continuous:
- traceability
- verification
- revalidation
- evidence synchronization
- deployment awareness
Human Oversight Remains Critical
Continuous assurance does not remove engineering accountability. It increases visibility into system change.
Closing
The V-model remains valid. What changes is how assurance operates across time.
