A Scalable Framework for Safety Assurance of Self-Driving Vehicles based on Assurance 2.0

Assurance 2.0 is a modern framework developed to address the assurance challenges of increasingly complex, adaptive, and autonomous systems. Building on the traditional Claims-Argument-Evidence (CAE) model, it introduces reusable assurance theories and explicit counterarguments (defeaters) to enhance rigor, transparency, and adaptability. It supports continuous, incremental assurance, enabling innovation without compromising safety. However, limitations persist in confidence measurement, residual doubt management, automation support, and the practical handling of defeaters and confirmation bias. This paper presents textcolorblacka set of decomposition frameworks to identify a complete set of safety arguments and measure their corresponding evidence. Grounded in the Assurance 2.0 paradigm, the framework is instantiated through a structured template and employs a three-tiered decomposition strategy. textcolorblackA case study regarding the application of the decomposition framework in the end-to-end (E2E) AI-based Self-Driving Vehicle (SDV) development is also presented in this paper. At the top level, the SDV development is divided into three critical phases: Requirements Engineering (RE), Verification and Validation (VnV), and Post-Deployment (PD). Each phase is further decomposed according to its Product Development Lifecycle (PDLC). To ensure comprehensive coverage, each PDLC is analyzed using an adapted 5M1E model (Man, Machine, Method, Material, Measurement, and Environment). Originally developed for manufacturing quality control, the 5M1E model is reinterpreted and contextually mapped to the assurance domain. This enables a multi-dimensional decomposition that supports fine-grained traceability of safety claims, evidence, and potential defeaters.