Medical device software development - A perspective from a lean manufacturing plant

Abstract

Developing software for the manufacture of medical devices is a sensitive operation from many perspectives, such as: safety and regulatory compliance. Medical Device companies are required to have a well defined development process in place, which includes software development, and be able to demonstrate that they have followed it through the complete life-cycle of the device. With the increasing complexity of Medical Devices, and more detailed software development regulations among some of the influencing factors, we take a look at how some of these factors have impacted the software development process within a medical device manufacturing plant. We find that tying down your process across the board can have unwanted consequences. As process flexibility is required, we have investigated the usefulness of Lean Software Development. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.