Soup (Software of Unknown Pedigree)

SOUP stands for Software of Unknown (or Uncertain) Pedigree (or Provenance), and is a term often used in the context of safety-critical and safety-involved systems. SOUP is software that has not been developed to known standards, software which has unknown or no safety-related properties.^[1]

Often, engineering projects are faced with economic or other pressure to embody SOUP into their high integrity systems.

The problem with SOUP is that a) it cannot be relied upon to perform safety-related functions, and b) it may prevent other software, hardware or firmware from performing their safety-related functions. The SOUP problem is therefore one of insulating the safety-involved parts of a system from the SOUP and its undesirable effects.

SOUP is now a defined term in some medical device regulations through the standard IEC 62304:2006 "Medical device software – Software life cycle processes". It is not prohibited to use SOUP but additional controls are needed and the risk needs to be taken into account.

References

1. ^ Felix Redmill (2001). "The COTS Debate in Perspective". In Udo Voges. Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Computer Safety, Reliability and Security, SAFECOMP 2001, Budapest, Hungary, September 26–28, 2001. Springer. pp. 122. ISBN 3540426078 ISBN 9783540426073. 

Further reading

• D. Frankis (2007-11-05). "Safety in the SOUP". Institution of Engineering and Technology Seminar on Pros and Cons of Using Commercial 'Off the Shelf' Components in Aviation Applications, London, UK, 4-4 Sept. 2007. pp. 9–21. ISSN 0537-9989. ISBN 978-0-86341-801-3.