How do I install the Hardware Planning skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add ashfordeou/hardware-planning in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Hardware Planning safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Hardware Planning?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Hardware Planning free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free. This skill is licensed under Apache-2.

Who published Hardware Planning?

ashfordeOU (@ashfordeou) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Hardware Planning by ashfordeou — Agent Skill

Name: Hardware Planning
Author: ashfordeOU

Hardware Planning

Use when you must plan DO-254 design assurance for airborne electronic hardware: classify an item as simple or complex AEH, scope the plan for hardware aspects of certification (PHAC) and the hardware design assurance data, and plan requirements capture, verification, and configuration management for the item. Complex AEH (programmable logic, processors, or designs whose correct behavior cannot be fully established from top-level data alone) follows the full design assurance process; simple AEH uses a reduced but still planned process. Trigger: DO-254 hardware planning, airborne electronic hardware, PHAC, simple vs complex hardware, hardware design assurance, programmable logic.

ashfordeOU 74c4764 3 files · 7.3 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

DO-254 Hardware Planning (avionics/do254/hardware-planning)

Use when the task is DO-254 design assurance planning for airborne electronic hardware: classifying the item and scoping its assurance data.

Domain quick reference

DO-254 distinguishes simple from complex airborne electronic hardware (AEH). Complex AEH (programmable logic, processors, significant internal state, or hardware whose correct behavior cannot be fully established from top-level data alone) follows the full design assurance process.
Safety-significant items are treated as complex unless a documented justification shows a reduced process is adequate.
Complex AEH planning: PHAC plus requirements capture, conceptual and detailed design, verification, configuration management, and process assurance data.
Simple AEH uses a reduced but still planned process: a hardware plan, verification, and configuration management.
DO-254 is accepted via FAA AC 20-152A.

Workflow

Classify the item: simple or complex AEH.
Complex: scope the PHAC and the full design assurance data set.
Simple: scope the reduced process (still planned, still verified).
Plan requirements capture, verification, and configuration management for the item.
Confirm the classification with the certification authority early.

Pitfalls

Calling an FPGA or processor item "simple" without justification.
Skipping verification for simple AEH (reduced is not none).
No PHAC for complex AEH.
Classification made without authority agreement.

Behavior contract (gate 3)

The AEH classification and planning-artifact logic is exercised by the gate 3 contract test: scripts/test_hardware_planning.py against scripts/hardware_logic.py (stdlib unittest, offline). Run: python3 scripts/test_hardware_planning.py

Compliance

Standards referenced, not reproduced: DO-254 text is proprietary (RTCA/EUROCAE); summary-only per standards-map.yaml and brief 06.
compliance: STANDARDS-REF, gated: false.

---name: hardware-planningdescription: Use when you must plan DO-254 design assurance for airborne electronic hardware: classify an item as simple or complex AEH, scope the plan for hardware aspects of certification (PHAC) and the hardware design assurance data, and plan requirements capture, verification, and configuration management for the item. Complex AEH (programmable logic, processors, or designs whose correct behavior cannot be fully established from top-level data alone) follows the full design assurance process; simple AEH uses a reduced but still planned process. Trigger: DO-254 hardware planning, airborne electronic hardware, PHAC, simple vs complex hardware, hardware design assurance, programmable logic.license: Apache-2.0---# DO-254 Hardware Planning (avionics/do254/hardware-planning)Use when the task is DO-254 design assurance planning for airborneelectronic hardware: classifying the item and scoping its assurancedata.## Domain quick reference- DO-254 distinguishes simple from complex airborne electronic hardware (AEH). Complex AEH (programmable logic, processors, significant internal state, or hardware whose correct behavior cannot be fully established from top-level data alone) follows the full design assurance process.- Safety-significant items are treated as complex unless a documented justification shows a reduced process is adequate.- Complex AEH planning: PHAC plus requirements capture, conceptual and detailed design, verification, configuration management, and process assurance data.- Simple AEH uses a reduced but still planned process: a hardware plan, verification, and configuration management.- DO-254 is accepted via FAA AC 20-152A.## Workflow1. Classify the item: simple or complex AEH.2. Complex: scope the PHAC and the full design assurance data set.3. Simple: scope the reduced process (still planned, still verified).4. Plan requirements capture, verification, and configuration management for the item.5. Confirm the classification with the certification authority early.## Pitfalls- Calling an FPGA or processor item "simple" without justification.- Skipping verification for simple AEH (reduced is not none).- No PHAC for complex AEH.- Classification made without authority agreement.## Behavior contract (gate 3)The AEH classification and planning-artifact logic is exercised by thegate 3 contract test: scripts/test_hardware_planning.py againstscripts/hardware_logic.py (stdlib unittest, offline). Run:python3 scripts/test_hardware_planning.py## Compliance- Standards referenced, not reproduced: DO-254 text is proprietary (RTCA/EUROCAE); summary-only per standards-map.yaml and brief 06.- compliance: STANDARDS-REF, gated: false.

Frequently asked questions