Piloting MDevSPICE: the medical device software process assessment framework

Software development companies moving into the medical device domain often find themselves overwhelmed by the number of regulatory requirements they need to satisfy before they can market their device. Several international standards and guidance documents have been developed to help companies on their road to regulatory compliance but working their way through the various standards is a challenge in itself. In order to help software companies in the medical device domain, we have developed an integrated framework of medical device software development best practices called MDevSPICE®. This framework integrates generic software development best practices with medical device standards’ requirements enabling consistent and thorough assessment of medical device processes. MDevSPICE® can be used by software companies evaluating their readiness for regulatory audits as well as by large medical device manufacturers for selecting suitable software suppliers. The MDevSPICE® framework consists of a process reference model, a process assessment model, an assessment method, and training and certification schemes. The framework has been validated using expert reviews and through MDevSPICE® assessments in industry. In this paper, we describe the MDevSPICE® process assessment framework focusing on its benefits and significance for the medical device manufacturing community as learned from MDevSPICE® assessments conducted to date.