ABSTRACT We face two difficulties when applying ISO 26262[1] in the concept phase. ISO 26262 is the functional safety standard in the automobile field and requires strict safety requirements. Usually, it is not easy to divide requirements into safety parts and non‐safety parts because they are closely connected with each other. That is, we have to perform two activities, functional development and functional safety activity, simultaneously. Other difficulty is a termitem. From the definition, theitemis a ‘system (1.129) or array of systems to implement a function at the vehicle level’. In concept phase, we apply hazard analysis to anitem, not system. The system definition comes after item definition and hazard analysis and risk assessment. So, it is hard to use the conventional methods (e.g. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)). To support this situation, we propose a method and a tool. Our method is an extension of knowledge acquisition in automated specification, and we also use the Goal Structuring Notation and scenario–situation matrix. The drawback of multi‐diagrams approach is the difficulty of maintaining the integrity of data, but the linkage mechanism of our tool provides the good navigation measure to transit a node of a diagram into the other node of a different diagram. Although we aim to support the scope of part 3 of ISO 26262, we believe this approach is not limited to the automobile field and can be used in a wide range of fields Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

It is important to capture information about how a software design is performed. We can use this information not only to modify artifacts during the maintenance phase, but also to share or improve our ability during the design phase itself. The strategy of making designers write down their processes explicitly does not work well. Such recording activities interrupt and disturb the design process, and some implicit knowledge is involved that is difficult to represent. If we can refer to explicit representations as "points" on a time axis then, in order to capture the design process authentically, we must also treat the "lines" linking these points. We propose a resonance interface which can treat these "line-parts" of the design process. The proposal suggests an innovative human-computer interface based upon cognitive science theory. This new interface can capture the software designer's creative work microscopically by using a primitive dynamic "image schema". It is possible to compact and also to integrate the fragments of the software design process in terms of these image schemas. In this paper, we present the effectiveness of our resonance interface from the viewpoint of its usability and its capability to capture and record design processes. The former is related to what is known as the designer's tacit knowledge acquisition. The latter is related to consolidation of the captured knowledge on a higher level.